There was never any reasoning
by Remedy's Melody 109
Summary: when Wolf and his team get pulled into a confusingly crazy game of cat and mouse, things will be complicated. Will Wolf come to when it's time? IS she innocent? What will happen? First cross, no flames. FNAF characters are in same form as he Star fox series.
1. The Day

**There was Never Any Reasoning**

Chapter 1~ The Day

 _Date: September 30th, 2018_

 _Location: Airlunnly Asylum (AA)_

 _Subject: Escaped lunatic; (NAME UNKNOWN) prisoner 1515324_

 _Escape Time: Approximately 200 AM_

 _Subject Whereabouts: UNKNOWN_

 _"On this day forth we shall not rest until that criminal is back where she belongs!"_

 _An old tom cat shouts to his fleet of 'Retrieval Criminal-est', or RC for short._

 _The white cat with brown and black spots, hummed to himself lowly. Listening to the shouts and cries of his men, who were indeed ready for action. Their subject was an escaped convict that was highly dangerous and deadly. She was no joke. Yes; SHE. Many of his men found her attractive. She often used her feminine charm and looks to get to certain extents. Otherwise she'd use brute force. Such as if they dared to block her exit. She'd simply throw a smoke bomb to obscure their visual on her and kick them in the head so that they would either be stunned or knocked out._

 _"Are we the protectors of the innocence going to let her ruin those lives?"_

 _A wave of 'NO' was heard throughout the room before they rounded out._

 _"Lets get a move on it then men!" Little did any of them know, was that she was a lot closer than they had originally thought. In fact she was in the same exact room with them. She was in one of the air vents. The place was so high on security that they even had cameras in the air vents. Apparently, and so happens that the air vent that she was currently in, was the same one that had been messing up quite recently. No one thought much of it; just that it needs to be fixed. She was stuck there until the meeting had ended._

 _Fortunately, for her, that she knew which squadron was searching for her, and she knew just how to dive right under their noses. Supposedly, Tompson's crew was the best throughout the galaxy and known as the "FireStrike". Tompson was the spotted cat that had just left with his secretary and one of the headsmen of the "Galaxy Criminal Control Board", GCCB for short. Supposedly the best legal team out there who can catch her. That wasn't going to happen any time soon._

 _For now, it was just her, the player, and anyone who sided against her, whom were the game pieces, and the universe was the game board. This will be a game she'll enjoy for years to come. She had to get out of there while she still had a chance to. But not before she could get her hands on that file that was sitting atop of a desk just below her. Popping the entrance to the vent out, she flung a sticky blob down and it stuck to the file. Luckily for her that it had a rubber band around it. She pulled it up, closed the vent and made her way out of the building._

 _She made her way to the roof. There, she parked her hover vehicle; a hovering motorbike. The woman climbed aboard the vehicle and revved the engine a few times, warming the inside of it. Letting up on the brakes, the bike jumped to a kick start and sped off the roof. Falling for a brief moment, the air rushing into her creamed colored_ _face and through her thick blonde hair, she pulled it back up and flew through the early morning sky._

 _After all, she had to enjoy her freedom while she still can._


	2. People

Chapter 2~People

The general had asked Fox to pay him a visit so that they could go over some important business. Usually when someone had to physically meet with general Peppers, it means that this was a serious matter. Once Fox arrived, Pepper told him that he was in dire need of him and his team; that he didn't have anyone else to go to for a thing like this. He informed Fox that he will be hired to go up against a psychopath; a relentless lunatic. He explained that she is willing to sacrifice any amount of innocent souls to get whatever it is that she was after at that point in time. Fox took in every word that passed by the old dogs mouth, and he understood each and every one that made it into his head. Pepper began to describe as well as point out a few things about this criminal that he needed to know. Frankly, and unfortunately everything he told him was everything that he himself knew about this individual. Pepper also told him that when he got back to his team, that they needed to load up and head out as soon as they could.

General Peppers was a old hound dog that fought through the Lylat Wars and became the general of the Corneria Army. Not long after the death of a close friend, he sees to it that his dear friends son is living alright. Since the Star Fox team is only accepting jobs for the greater good, it makes it that much easier to keep an eye on the lad.

"I can not stress enough, that time is an essence here, Fox."

"Roger that General. My team and I will do the best to our abilities sir."

"I'm counting on you my boy. Do not let me down." The old hound spoke in a serious and strict tone to express that even though they were good friends, he was not afraid to thrust him and his team into the pit of consequences that lay beneath his feet at all times.

"One more thing before you leave," He stopped Fox in his tracks. "you will have back up at all times. A small team at your disposal and the Retrieval Criminal-est. R.C. for short. They are lead by Commander Tompson who will be all the more happy to have back up as well."

Fox nodded indicating that he understood his mission and what was at stake here. He bid the hound a farewell and made his way back to the Great Fox, the space aircraft carrier and battleship that serves as mobile headquarters, launching platform, tactical support, and residence of the elite Star Fox squadron.

It felt like it should have been one of those cheery days, but fate had other plans. Not only did the criminal database had been hacked and crashed but Fox had a case practically thrown at him just this morning. Apparently no one else can do the job. He contacted his team before hand and said, that they were launching off immediately once he arrived, so they could prepare before he got there. Walking into the main command center, he saw everyone at their stations and ready to go. No time was wasted; everyone sat down until they were told that they were good to go.

Fox McCloud was a fox and the leader of the mercenary team Star Fox. Since after his fathers' passing and Peppy's' urgent decision, he was shoved into this leadership role that he was in no way prepared for, he recruited the hot-tempered Falco Lombardi, mechanical genius Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare to make up the new Star Fox team.

Once he learned about his fathers death, he dropped out of the Corneria Defenses Army Academy to avenge his father (CDAA).

Slippy Toad was a short, green, brain-aic of a frog, and was also the son of a research director for the Cornerian Defense Force and a popular scientist for the government, . He's the teams mechanic and inventor like his father. His father was the one who created the Arwings during the Lylat wars, which are the very same ones that both Star Fox and Star Wolf use.

Slippy and Fox had known each other since they were children and have flown with each other ever since. Their dads worked together on the arwings, James McCloud, Fox's father, tested the aircraft while Beltino Toad recorded necessary data to further improve the craft.

Fox alone was the reason why the team name continued to thrive once more after his father had passed. There was very little he remembered about him and even more so about his mother who he can't even remember what she looked like. His father on the other hand was all to easy to think about. Looking in the mirror every morning was a constant reminder by itself. He tried not to think abut him too much. If he did, he would cry a river.

Fox would find himself wondering, or rather imagine what life would be like if his father lived on. _'I wouldn't be alone...'_. The thought continuously plagued his mind.

Krystal was the only one he could think of who would know anything about loss. Her parents and even her planet was destroyed because of Andross. The treacherous monkey had captured her and used her natural born powers to take vengeance on those he deemed his enemy.

That is when Fox invited Her to the team, as a permeant member. As grateful and honored she was by the invite she gracefully accepted. The blue furred vixen is a kind hearted soul, very sincere and has a very welcoming personality. But because she is such as that, her abilities affect her in a different way. Visions would appear out of the blue, creep into her dreams and use her life as an example of what's to come. Of course it's not as straight forward as she would like, but it does help from time to time...Especially now.

In fact and unknown to Fox, that Krystal had a vision. One that told her about this criminal that they are supposed to capture. Of course Fox hadn't known that Krystal already knew about the task at hand, but she listened in anyway, just to see if there was anything that will help her figure out who it is, thus helping out her team in a way.

"Alright everyone." He gathered each of their individual attention.

"General Peppers has a special task for us to do. It's extremely important that we stick to it."

Falco felt like this wasn't going to be a normal mission. It usual wasn't and it was something he didn't really mind.

Falco Lombardi was a tall blue bird who is a member of an avian race as well as an ace pilot of the Star Fox team. He was taller han the rest of the crew. Falco had enlisted in the Corneria Flight Academy but dropped out and became a rouge pilot. He's had his fair share of recklessness but since joining the Star Fox team, he's honestly had more fun times than not. Unlike the rest of the crew, he was also the only one to be very blunt and arrogant.

"Cut the crap Fox and get to the point already." He knew Fox was delaying. Fox simply gave Falco a glare, him praying that the intense look in his eyes would bore holes into his fat head, but he continued on.

"As I was saying, General Peppers' has an important task for us and only us to handle. Our task is seemingly simple; track down and arrest a lunatic that's escaped from the _A.A._." He says it as if the they had already completed the mission.

Slippy, Falco and even Peppy didn't understand the concept. Why are they being sent out to capture an ex-convict? Maybe someone from Wolfs' Domain, but that was becoming rare only because most of them had settled when they appointed Wolf their lord. Maybe they won't even get to see Wolf and his team for a change. That was something Falco hoped for. Running into them would be like asking for someone to give you the plague.

Wolf O'Donnell was a whole new concept. He was like for in a few ways such as their both leaders of mercenary teams. They both lived through the Lylat Wars, only Wolf got the short end of the stick, or in his case, the wrong end of a blaster-giants gun.

Peppy Hare was the remaining Star Fox member from the original team after he survived the battle against Andross and limped home to the son of James McCloud, in which he insisted that the junior McCloud should take the place of leadership after his father.

It wasn't until Fox was in the CDAA that he learned of his fathers death at the hands of Andross and a wingman of his own team, Pigma Dengar whom lead the senior McCloud into a deadly trap in which he will not be able to escape from.

But for a price, this justified group will only accept jobs that serve to uphold the law.

"I don't get what's so important about locking up a criminal? Isn't that for the police to handle?" Fox turned to Slippy to answer his question.

"Yeah. Why are we the ones chasing after an ex-convict?" Falco and Slippy had a good question, but then again he didn't know what he knew. Fox was trying to think of a way to say this with answering as many questions that may come to mind. Peppy, given the chance, spoke up.

"I'll admit that Falco has a point-" "Damn straight." Falco interrupted. "But..."

"But what Peppy?"

Peppy didn't believe that the general wouldn't just send them out on a wild goose chase, no he knew he wouldn't do such a thing. If he ever had a need for the Star Fox team, then it was more than likely that whatever it was, was important and dangerous.

"General Pepper would never send us out on a pointless goose chase." Falco hummed that thought for a moment. Peppy was right and he understood that, but a convict? It didn't make any sense.

"Right. So all of a sudden he needs us to capture some crook because his guys are big babies and don't know what the hell they're doing?" Sometimes that blue birds sarcasm really does irritate the old rabbit. Krystal decided to butt this time; get them to be quite so she can listen to what Fox was saying.

"Would you two please knock it off and let Fox finish what he was going to say!" Her british like accent soothed over the two of them. Both of them settled back into their seats awaiting for Fox to continue.

"That is a good point. I didn't quite understand at first either when he told me. But apparently this person has evaded capture for nearly eight years now." _'Eight years? That is certainly a long time'_ Krystal wondered to herself. _'But how in the great Lylat galaxy was a person to survive on their own for that long, being a wanted criminal and all'_ Krystal asked Fox if General Pepper knew _how_ they lasted this long without confrontation.

"Does he know how the convict lasted this long without running into a government official or any law-bidding citizen?" Fox looked over at Krystal and said

"He personally hasn't seen her in person yet. As for anyone who guards security facilities, or anything of the sort then they have most likely seen her. Maybe as close as you and I are right now" He gestured the distance between him and Krystal, which was approximately fifteen feet at most.

Falco paused for a moment to itch his ear to make sure he had heard Fox correctly. _'...Did he just say_ her _?'_ He asked Fox just to be sure he heard him right.

"You did say her right? Like as in female." Fox nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "That's new. Don't really hear anything about _female_ crook activity." Falco leaned forward on his knees with his elbows supporting him.

When Fox gave an example of just how close they have gotten to her, it made Krystal even more so curious about this whole thing. From what her vision showed her and from what she could gather from hearing this from Fox, it really isn't easy to come up with a decent summary of this person. It's actually confusing her more than anything. Hopefully this will clear up as they go along. It shouldn't be too hard to catch her. Right?

Slippy was quick to add something that would cause even more confusion for her.

"Yeah! Since she's wanted all over the galaxy there wouldn't be much of anywhere to hide out at. Or not for very long, at least." Fox nodded in agreement. He listened to each of their comments and concerns while trying his best to cover as much of the topic as he could.

"That's what Pepper and I thought at first too." Fox said and began to explain what he meant. "By looking at her timing of attacks that it's not as simple as you'd think. A top guard in the first rank discovered the length of time between her attacks were rather long and that even though they've alerted every planet about her, that she still had somewhere to go to regroup." It did seem easy at first, but now it looks like they were going to go through what the R.C. soldiers had too; a difficult game of hide and seek where she's playing both roles. "To further answer your question Krystal, there wasn't a whole lot to go with at the beginning of this. All the things I'm telling you are all that me, General Pepper and even the most smartest and most skilled government hacker knows about her." He stated. Using the examples that he did, emphasizes just how good she really is. It also seems like she's targeting something, or rather, someone. She couldn't be too sure just yet, but it's a hunch that she'll have to keep to herself for the time being.

"That's it?" Peppy asked. Disappointment could be detected in his voice. Fox couldn't blame him, nor any of his teammates. It must seem like they felt as though that's all they were good for now; catching lowly crooks. Fox can understand how they would think that, he, himself thought the same when Pepper told him what he was called for. Then again Peppy, nor the rest of his crew, should judge a book by it's cover.

"Other than that, we're his last hope for a peaceful capture before resulting in a full invasion strategy. Besides that, there is a description of her. We had to travel to many different places, including planets, to get an accurate description of her from people who had the chance to take a look at her."

Peppy couldn't believe his big Easter bunny ears. _'A full search invasion? Is he really that desperate that he'll be forced to do so? For one person?'_ In all honesty, Peppy was worried. He didn't like the idea of it, and apparently neither did General Pepper. Just thinking about how homes and families could be torn apart because of one crazy girl made his stomach turn. Thankfully he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard NUS asking Fox if he could describe the woman so that he can run it through the criminal database, now that it was finally back up and running.

"Would you mind explaining the description in as much detail as possible for an accurate match?" the robot asked. Fox nodded and began describing her.

"Well, from what I've been told is that her outfit consists of a small black tube top, long black arm stockings with brown leather belts near her shoulders and a matching black headband." NUS ran the details through the database as Fox continued to describe her. "She wears small light tan combat boots, and same color shorts with blue and red striped stockings, as well as black and yellow suspenders hanging down from her belt loops. Her hair is blonde, she has bangs that hang in her face, and the full length of her hair goes past her waist. She has many different piercings', most are located on her ears and one on her stomach. Besides that, we know she's a light colored wolf."

It will take a few minutes before NUS will come up with a match. Since she hasn't been caught on camera clearly, it adds more time to processing the details with known criminals; those with records on file. While NUS was doing that, Fox wanted to make a few points about her, for their safety.

"I want you guys to be careful when go after her or if you have to face her in combat. She's tricky and clever when it comes down to fist fighting and dirty tricks. Even more so when she has a weapon. But before I get into that I want to explain something else real quick." Fox said, then added "This is just towards the gentlemen only. It doesn't involve you Krystal, in any way." Krystal nodded and waited, still listening in. "The only thing I can really say is that you try not to get too physical with her." _'Well that's a little odd to ask. Especially since in most missions we have to be physical, what with the dog-fights and all'_ Peppy thought to himself.

"How come Fox?" He thought to himself for a moment, thinking of how he was going to say it without being so blunt or straight forward.

"Uhhh...All I was told was that not only was she known to have buildings explode once she left them, but also that she'll use her uh...um feminae charm against males to arouse them...and she's not afraid to do it again." Fox looked the room up and down as he spoke, trying to find the right words to describe it.

Silence filled the room. Krystal on one hand couldn't believe that she would even consider doing such a thing. _'If I find out that she had done that to Fox, I'd have her head!'_ There was no way that she was ever going to let that whore of a woman do that to him. Krystal likes Fox and Fox secretly likes her back but neither of them know that. That wasn't going to stop her from preventing that from happening though. Cringing at the images that flashed through her head, she immediately diminished the thought. On the other hand, the others were just as weird-ed out as Fox was. If you thought about it, it was a good strategy, not a decent one but a clever one.

"So she makes guys horny to get what she wants and then blows up the building afterwards." It was more him restating the response than asking a question. All eyes were now on the blunt mouthed bird. Fox whipped his head in Falco's direction.

"You didn't have to be so blunt about it!" A blush crossing over his cheeks.

"You weren't going to put it any simpler, so someone had to spill the beans" Falco replied more smoothly than Fox did. "Excuse me -" Falco stopped him and said

"You're excused" before Fox continued

"- If I was trying to be civil in front of a lady" Krystal had a tint of blush upon her cheeks as he gestured to her. It was sweet that he thought before acting. _'Unlike some people'_ She thought irritably, glancing over at Falco.

"But yes... that's exactly what I was saying" Fox said sounding defeated. "Back to the other thing I wanted to explain to _all_ of you, this time" No matter; he picked himself back up, straighten his pilots jacket and carried on.

He first told them, that that was just something that happened and weren't quite sure as to why just yet. Fox also went into explaining how she was when she was carrying a weapon on her. It wasn't a certain type of weapon in any way, shape, or form just that she was dangerous with or without one.

"When she does have a weapon, she's not as dangerous as she is with a weapon, right?" Slippy asked. He just couldn't quite grasp the concept just yet, and discussing over it and over again wasn't helping.

"Let's just say it's a debatable thing." Krystal commented and they agreed.

Peppy wonder what is it that she wants? Before he could ask, NUS had found a match. "Match detected!" "Pull it up" NUS did as Fox commanded. There, on screen, as the clearest image they could capture.

"Was the image taken from the security camera?" Slippy asked aloud. He angled his head sideways to get a better look at the image.

"Actually...it was. It was also the closet thing they could get of her." Fox stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Well...She seems like a cocky little thing huh?" Peppy mumbles to himself. Looking up at the picture you would assume that she was kidding around and acting like she was on a playground of some sort. She hung upside down from where the camera was at; only by a matter a yard and a half away. With squinting eyes, she wore a broad smile proudly as she held onto the rope with one hand and flicking off the camera with the other.

Fox then goes into about where her last location was, ending the briefing and to start them off on the objective.

"From what little information I was manage to get a hold of. I was able to configure that her last known location, or where she was last seen was here." Next to her picture, a map of the Laylat system was pulled up. A beckon was placed off to the side and over the bold printed name.

 **Subdivision ; Meteo Asteroid Belt**

"Wait...isn't that where the Star Wolf team hide out all of the time with a load of other criminals?" Slippy asked nervously.

"I'm afraid so Slippy. I token the liberty of contacting Wolf. He knows that there's a better chance of seeing us more than once. Though I'm not sure he received the message"

"What!?" Falco yelled "Don't tell me we have to work with those losers! They'll just slow us down" Falco wasn't the only who didn't trust them much. Krystal was just a bit uncomfortable around Panther. Not that she liked him, which she didn't, but because he flirted with her so much. Panther does this, not only because he finds Krystal attractive, but to also piss off Fox; It worked every time too. 'I'll never figure out how he knows that I like her', Fox once thought to himself.

"Oh. Well actually-" "You must be kidding!" Flaring up out of his seat, Falco already knew what Fox was going to say so he cut him off.

"We can't trust those bozos! They're nothing but back stabbers and killers!" He stated harshly. Falco couldn't believe that Fox would want to do a thing like that. Fox had waited for him to finish before adding the fact was that they had no choice.

"It wasn't my decision. General Pepper had it arranged before he even informed me about the task at hand" Fox retorted with a hint of sly in his voice, feeling superior to Falco for a change. Falco and Peppy both looked dumbfounded at Fox's statement as Slippy and Krystal just looked at the other and shrugged. Between the two of them and NUS, orders were orders. Since Peppers had already decided for them, they couldn't back down, even if they wanted to.

"Now why would the general do that without your consent? " Peppy asked aloud. "You are the leader of Star Fox. Not to mention, he knows how they are and what they're wanted for." He spoke for himself, Falco and partly Slippy.

"Because he was so gracious as offering to pay off the bounty on my crews head and mine, if we were to go along and help capture this crook" A deep growling voice came from behind Fox. Every last of his bright orange strand of fur standing on end from the sudden presence behind him. Fox twirled around to see none other than the great Wolf O'Donnell standing behind him with a smug grin plastered on his white muzzle. Fox's heart thumping within his chest as he asked "How did you get in!?"

Wolf and his two man crew, Leon Powalski and Panther Caroso, stood behind him. Wolf with his arms crossed over his chest, Leon with his hands hanging down at his sides, and Panther holding a rose as he takes in its fragrance. All wearing their battle gear.

"Yeah yeah yeah McCloud. Your general was the one to give us access to your ship with this..." He held up a card with the Star Fox insignia on it. All the members of Star Fox widened their eyes with shock. Leon spoke next; Answering a predictable question.

"He gave us this card to come in. Said that this little task needs to start as soon as possible." his mob-boss voice gave him his sarcastically serious tone as a silly smirk appeared on his face.

"That's great" Falco retorted, deciding he was in a rather annoyed mood all of a sudden and sat back down. Personally he'd rather rot in prison than to work with them. But seeing as he's needed to complete their little mission, he would just have to suck it up for now and prey that he doesn't have to work with one of them one-on-one.

"How long were you three even standing there?" Peppy asked Wolf since he was their leader, but Leon answered for him. Wolf looked to his left and listened to Leon speak for the moment before his attention span was snagged back to Fox.

"When bird brain said we were killers" Fox and Peppy cringed when he said "killers".

Wolf O'Donnell was an average run of the mut with a bad background. Because of where he and Leon came from only made their futures that much harder to control. The both of them were forced to participate in the Lylat wars if they wanted to survive.

Since he had some type of experience with guns and learning how to aim and shoot with one, he lead a life of crime. Not that he didn't want to but he couldn't. After the war ended he was already grown. Wolf was inspired to form his own mercenary team which included Leon, and named it Star Wolf.

Unlike Star Fox, Star Wolf took whatever job they could get, which in terms gave them a bad reputation as a team. And after surviving Andross, an vengeful old monkey that was put to rest by the Star Fox team, Wolf took his squadron and made a base at the abandoned space station that was left to rot in the Meteo Asteroid Belt. Any and all crooks came from far and wide to serve under him. They mainly consisted of Venom solider's that retired from war and proudly named him Lord O'Donnell.

Before the he met Leon he was on his own for a week after his parents were killed because of a cave in in their house from a ship crashing atop of his home. It was a miracle that he made it out of there alive. Since that day the two of them had been fighting beside each other until help arrived. Thank the gods that the did when they did because a giant four-legged cannon machine that roamed around the destroyed city aimed it's lasers at Wolf. Leon tried to grab him before it shot, but to no avail. The laser graced Wolf's left eye, and a red liquid sprayed everywhere.

Leon did his best to fix him up when the original Star Fox crew came. After the medics had bandaged him up along with anyone else who needed it, a tall male fox came up to him and told him to keep his chin up. That same guy looked a lot like Fox. Or was it the other way around?

Leon was mob-monster type of guy. His demeanor and personality match perfectly with his witty comebacks and loyal state of mind. Leon was Wolf's right hand man whenever he needed something to hold against someone. Since he was a chameleon, that was no problem. His camouflage also helps with assassinating his enemies. He's been apart of Star Wolf since the end of the Lylat wars. He's also proud to say he wouldn't want to work for anyone else.

Then you have Panther. There isn't much to say other than he's a black panther with a purple tint, a scar running across his face and that has a fascination with Krystal. And that he joined the Star Wolf team much later after they kicked Pigma Dengar out and replace him with Panther.

Slippy was the only one who took note that General Pepper was calling in through the virtual hologram used for communication, and decided to answer before Fox even noticed.

"If he says so-" Fox mumbled to himself. Frankly General Pepper heard him and replied with an aggravated tone.

 _"And that I do Fox. Now, down to business gentlemen...and Lady"_ Of course he wouldn't forget Krystal. General Pepper told them a few things that they'll be needing to know, such as different tactics that they haven't already tried, that might possibly work, weapons, and any more information that he could gather on this being.

 _"You were informed about the last location that she was last seen at. You will be notified of every location she has gone to, what she's done and what it seems what she was after."_ the old dog stated w

"Why would we need to know all that. Why not where she's hit and where it seems like she's going?" Leon asked the hound The question bugged the General, but he answered in a calmly manner.

 _"She's tricky as well as crafty. She just isn't going to do as you just said. She's smarter than our highest scientist and technicians."_ General Peppers stated with his snout high in the air.

Slippy thought about his father; he _was_ the highest scientist that they had.

"What about my dad?" General Pepper look toward the young amphibian and spoke. _"Yes. Well he's still trying to figure out how she managed to hack and crash the criminal database, now that it's running again ."_ A shockwave rushed over Slippy as well as majority of the people in the room. Wolf on the other hand wasn't as surprised as the others were.

 _"Yes. She was the one to do such a thing. It actually took a total of nearly six months to repair."_ Pepper continued to talk _"I was just checking in on all of you as well as tell you the information I had given to you earlier. Yes Star Fox and Star Wolf will be working together and I suggest you get use to it and fast. Besides that, there will be a meeting in four weeks tops. Both teams are going, no objections."_

The old hound dog turned his attention to Wolf and his crew. _"Now Wolf,"_ He addressed him like he was a pup in trouble. _"you are to follow every single order that Fox gives you, down to the letter. Don't stray from the objective, or you and your teammates will be sharing a nice cozy cell together. Do I make myself clear?"_ he awaited for Wolf's answer.

"Down to the letter eh? No punishment if it's not what you want and the bounty still gets paid by you?" Wolf in turn asked General Peppers.

 _"Yes and yes"_

"Then aye aye sir" Wolf said, recalling his old space pirate days. Pepper turned back to Fox and spoke briefly

 _"If any of those three cause trouble concerning the mission at hand, let me know. If they are to wonder about without one of the Star Fox members accompanying them, then they better report every hour of everyday you are separated, and what they do, go and especially who they're with. and I wish you all good luck. General Peppers over and out!"_

After the general left, they all stood in silence.

Wolf glanced over at Fox as he seemed to be in deep thought. A moment passes before Fox spoke up again.

"What do you think Wolf?" The question actually startled him, to say the least. Though pondering the thought for a moment before he answered.

"You heard the old coot, were under your authority, whatever you say goes."

Krystal piped in next.

"Well we all heard him say that." She sweetly spoke, putting a fist on her hip. Then she asked if they had anything on the convict the were after. "Do you have anything on the girl?" Panther was the one to answer her question by holding up a piece of paper.

"As for her...we actually did find out something... it's not much" This immediately grabbed Fox's attention. His ears shot up like a bullets; interested in what Panther had in his hands.

"My team and I did a little research of our own." Panther pulled out a file, from what seemed to be out of nowhere, and handed it and the piece of paper to Wolf, whom in turn handed it to Fox. He skimmed over the thin pages that seemed to go on with information about each incident that occurred because of her. In very much detail, and Fox did notice that there were quite a few things highlighted...in different colors, he might add. Fox looked up at Wolf, only because he was shorter than he was, with a shocked expression. He couldn't believe that he got this much information when Fox and many other officers who tried to help him, could barely make out of what anyone said.

"How did-"

"We have our ways McCloud." Wolf interrupted him, and sticking to the problem at hand. "Her name is 'Lollipop Tycoon'. At least that's what they call her." Wolf stopped Falco in his tracks with "And NO, I did not make it up just now either Lombardi." Wolf saw Falco about to say something, out of the corner of his eye. Leon and Slippy snickered in the background. Leon had asked the same question earlier. Fox handed the file to NUS for further examination.

"All right. Wolf..." Fox spoke clearly. "... We're heading into your territory, so I'm only going to give you so much freedom. Besides that, you three are the only ones who knows that place better than anyone here."

Wolf nodded in response. "Of course pup. Don't worry, if she's there, we'll get her in no time." Thus they were off into deep space, to Wolf's place of business.

"What was that top sheet for?" Fox asked Wolf. "Entry record sheet for the A.A. Just have the nanny bot of there to remind you to read it."

"He's not a nanny bot but a very intelligent robot!" Slippy said annoyingly.

In the corner of the room was a tiny microphone, and it was live-streaming everything they said, straight to Lollipops headset. A Pair of hazel eyes shone in the dark room around herself.

"So...They're on their way to my favorite playground hmm?...This is going to be fun..." She giggled, preparing herself for what's to come.

with a cough at the end.

"Why would we need to know all that. Why not where she's hit and where it seems like she's going?" Leon asked the hound The question bugged the General, but he answered in a calmly manner.

 _"She's tricky as well as crafty. She just isn't going to do as you just said. She's smarter than our highest scientist and technicians."_ General Peppers stated with his snout high in the air.

Slippy thought about his father; he _was_ the highest scientist that they had.

"What about my dad?" General Pepper look toward the young amphibian and spoke. _"Yes. Well he's still trying to figure out how she managed to hack and crash the criminal database, now that it's running again ."_ A shockwave rushed over Slippy as well as majority of the people in the room. Wolf on the other hand wasn't as surprised as the others were.

 _"Yes. She was the one to do such a thing. It actually took a total of nearly six months to repair."_ Pepper continued to talk _"I was just checking in on all of you as well as tell you the information I had given to you earlier. Yes Star Fox and Star Wolf will be working together and I suggest you get use to it and fast. Besides that, there will be a meeting in four weeks tops. Both teams are going, no objections."_

The old hound dog turned his attention to Wolf and his crew. _"Now Wolf,"_ He addressed him like he was a pup in trouble. _"you are to follow every single order that Fox gives you, down to the letter. Don't stray from the objective, or you and your teammates will be sharing a nice cozy cell together. Do I make myself clear?"_ he awaited for Wolf's answer.

"Down to the letter eh? No punishment if it's not what you want and the bounty still gets paid by you?" Wolf in turn asked General Peppers.

 _"Yes and yes"_

"Then aye aye sir" Wolf said, recalling his old space pirate days. Pepper turned back to Fox and spoke briefly

 _"If any of those three cause trouble concerning the mission at hand, let me know. If they are to wonder about without one of the Star Fox members accompanying them, then they better report every hour of everyday you are separated, and what they do, go and especially who they're with. and I wish you all good luck. General Peppers over and out!"_

After the general left, they all stood in silence.

Wolf glanced over at Fox as he seemed to be in deep thought. A moment passes before Fox spoke up again.

"What do you think Wolf?" The question actually startled him, to say the least. Though pondering the thought for a moment before he answered.

"You heard the old coot, were under your authority, whatever you say goes."

Krystal piped in next.

"Well we all heard him say that." She sweetly spoke, putting a fist on her hip. Then she asked if they had anything on the convict the were after. "Do you have anything on the girl?" Panther was the one to answer her question by holding up a piece of paper.

"As for her...we actually did find out something... it's not much" This immediately grabbed Fox's attention. His ears shot up like a bullets; interested in what Panther had in his hands.

"My team and I did a little research of our own." Panther pulled out a file, from what seemed to be out of nowhere, and handed it and the piece of paper to Wolf, whom in turn handed it to Fox. He skimmed over the thin pages that seemed to go on with information about each incident that occurred because of her. In very much detail, and Fox did notice that there were quite a few things highlighted...in different colors, he might add. Fox looked up at Wolf, only because he was shorter than he was, with a shocked expression. He couldn't believe that he got this much information when Fox and many other officers who tried to help him, could barely make out of what anyone said.

"How did-"

"We have our ways McCloud." Wolf interrupted him, and sticking to the problem at hand. "Her name is 'Lollipop Tycoon'. At least that's what they call her." Wolf stopped Falco in his tracks with "And NO, I did not make it up just now either Lombardi." Wolf saw Falco about to say something, out of the corner of his eye. Leon and Slippy snickered in the background. Leon had asked the same question earlier. Fox handed the file to NUS for further examination.

"All right. Wolf..." Fox spoke clearly. "... We're heading into your territory, so I'm only going to give you so much freedom. Besides that, you three are the only ones who knows that place better than anyone here."

Wolf nodded in response. "Of course pup. Don't worry, if she's there, we'll get her in no time." Thus they were off into deep space, to Wolf's place of business.

"What was that top sheet for?" Fox asked Wolf. "Entry record sheet for the A.A. Just have the nanny bot of there to remind you to read it."

"He's not a nanny bot but a very intelligent robot!" Slippy said annoyingly.

In the corner of the room was a tiny microphone, and it was live-streaming everything they said, straight to Lollipops headset. A Pair of hazel eyes shone in the dark room around herself.

"So...They're on their way to my favorite playground hmm?...This is going to be fun..." She giggled, preparing herself for what's to come.


	3. Meteo

In a few short hours they had arrived in the Meteo. The place was crawling with thugs of all kinds; thieves, murders, and hackers of the worst were here for protection under Wolf. Hidden within the Meteo Asteroid Belt, the Sargasso Hideout was an old and abandoned space facility that was brought back up to service for those of criminal activity, and retired Venomian army troops, such as Wolf and Leon. It is protected by forcefields and on-board spacecraft, equipment and technology that much resembled Venomian designs. Even though Wolf wasn't known for the type of guy to help out anyone in need, just for the sake of it, but he did in his own way. _'Wolf seems like more of a nice guy then he let's on'_ Fox always thought that he was friendly in some way. He also knew Wolf hid that side of him because of their reputation. It's hard being the bad-est of bad, but at the same time, have a kind heart. He just wished that Wolf would liven up a bit when it was just the two of them.

"Only one of you can come with me, if you plan on walking around." Wolf spoke all of the sudden. "You should realize that none of my men like any of you."

Unlike the rest of his crew, Slippy was thankful that he wasn't the one going down there. Even though he's pretty good in the dog-fighting they do and a little bit of recon with Fox, but he preferred not to. It's also just being there in person with no weapons is what freaked him out the most. Peppy, NUS, and Krystal were needed on deck, going through reports, and Lollipops' file to see if there's any connection anywhere. Falco, Panther, and Leon will be in their Arwings just outside the hideout, awaiting commands from Fox and Wolf.

Speaking of which, the two of them were on their way to their own Arwings. From there they will land on the on the floating space station.

"I can't promise that we'll find her, but I _can_ say that my men will be more than willing to keep an eye out for her."

"Nice to know" Fox commented.

They landed on the private port in the back, and made their way inside through the back hallways and a few secret shortcuts that were in the buildings' original plans. The hallway leading to Wolfs' office was right behind the bar wing; where drinks were served, and loud conversations could be held. It was also the front of the build. Wolf lead Fox to his office so they could speak in peace and without any interruptions.

"We'll have to think of a plan. She's just not going to do something without reason." Fox said. As he stepped foot into the dandy little office, he noticed that it was anything but small.

The interior was completely different from the exterior; It looked like a library type of office than one you'd see in any space or police station. Mouthing a "wow" as he slowly took one step after another, observing all the little things that either sat on his desk or on the shelves. All the shelves went from the floor to the ceiling, and eight to ten feet into the room, not to mention that they were packed with books on every subject. His desk was on the far end of the room. Behind it was two more book shelves, both in which lead from the floor to the ceiling as well, but they were filled with different foreign objects, most of which he couldn't describe. In between them was a decent sized fire place; all in which were approximately five feet away. In front of the desk were two chairs for any guest. They looked bran-new. _'Doesn't really have anyone in here does he?'_ Fox thought to himself as he continued to take in the décor of the room. Above the mantle was multiple pictures of various people.

"It's a lot to take in, I know." Fox was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Wolf's voice come up from behind him. A gloved hand rested on his shoulder. Leading up the black clothed arm he saw Wolf looking up at the picture covered wall, before he went to sit at his desk.

"As for the plan, I think I have one that'll be decent enough to use." He said.

"Do you think it'll work is the question you need to be asking yourself" Fox said. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of Wolf.

"That's the thing," Wolf began," We won't know until we come into contact with her." Fox and Wolf sat there looking at each other. _'Wait until we find her to act upon the strategy that he has conjured up in that head of his?'_ Fox thought for a moment. He kept wondering why he would come up with a lowly plan like that. Wolf is a smart man, and he highly doubted that he was just making something up because he was lazy, or just didn't come up with anything smarter at the time.

"I know it sounds stupid, but she's not going to continuously stick with the same thing."

"How do you know?" Fox questioned him.

"Simple. We know she's smarter than the average bear," Fox puffed a laugh when Wolf compared her to a bear. Bears aren't all that smart, and frankly they rely on their brute strength more times than not. "and she knows that we're smart too. So if she's as smart as we think we know her to be than she knows not to use that same tactic more than once, because she knows that we'll eventually figure it out and use it to our advantage." When Wolf finished with a huff of air and dug in the cabinet under his desk. He glanced up at Fox over the desk and stated that he wasn't going to repeat what he just said. "If you didn't understand that then too bad 'cuz I am not saying that again, so forget it".

"What are you digging for there, anyway?" Fox looked at Wolf from over the desk. Well his ears since that was the only part of him that he could see.

"This." He said setting a flat piece of thick metal down on top. "What is it?" Fox observed what it seemed to be. If he was correct, it was supposed to act as a file saver; you could put anything in it, DVD's, CD's, voice tapes, visual tapes and even documents. It's memory was endless. Wolf spoke up and told Fox that this was going to show them what had occurred at the Sargasso hideout this whole day. " We're going to watch a some what long video on the hideout today."

"A video? About here? The entire day?" Fox repeatedly asked. Wolf nodded to confirm his questions. "Something's off about the idiots in the bar." Wolf stated. Why would they need to watch whatever happened in the bar? _'Unless...'_ Fox let his thoughts wonder over to Lollipop. _'Maybe she was here...Is that where he's getting at?'_ Fox decided to ask him.

"You don't think she was here, do you?"

"No telling. But, by the way they're acting, is like they were given a shot at sex with a whore for free." Wolf turned the machine on and enter the long and many passwords he used to make sure no one can get in and use it for their own selfish needs.

Two see-through screens popped up before them. One faced Wolf and the other faced Fox. The sound began playing through the speaker. It was loud considering there was different music playing, drunk people shouting and Fox could see a few punches being thrown, but no fights occurred. People were sitting at the bar talking and clinging their drinks together as they laughed and asking for more. Woman could also be seen walking here and there. To be honest, Fox didn't really think that there would be any females here, let alone any that would drink and be just as obnoxious as the men here were. Besides that, there wasn't much to tell that was out of order.

Fox was trying to an eye out the best he could, keeping track of what everyone was doing and with whom. Now he hasn't been called in for something like this in a while so it could take some time. Wolf on the other hand had been studying this thing like it was a job strategy. Which made it ten times easier for him to spot whatever it was that he was searching for.

"There." Wolf pointed to a small blob walking through the crowd of people. The figure was short and awfully thin, too thin to be male.

What Fox didn't know was that Wolf had watched this a thousand times already. He continuously watched every member of the bar and what they were doing at that time. He replayed it, watching different sections at a time until his eye wore weary. That's when he had to have Panther watch it for him. Panther reported what he observed up until they were called in by the general to meet up with the Star Fox crew.

"So it's another female that wants a drink. Your point is?" He didn't think much about it at first before Wolf began listing a few that were off when they got here.

"One things for sure is that they won't drink so much just to be canned the next day. They have thing they want to get done too pup." Wolf stated before he started listing the things he'd seen upon entering the building.

"They're louder than usual, is for one. There happens to be a lot more 'getting along' than any of them would have preferred, and that person who just walked through the door in the video," Wolf took the pen from the side of the object, and circled the person.

"I haven't seen here before. Adding to the fact that this person is a female and being greeted and or notice by many of the men here, only proves my point that they don't belong here."

"You're loosing me here Wolf. Why do all these little things bother you?" Fox

Now that he pointed all that out, it did make sense. "If you haven't seen Lolly there before, then it doesn't make sense." Fox said. "She's a criminal just like you and the rest of the people here. Why wouldn't she have been here before, and be welcomed just the same as any other would?" Fox seemed to thinking aloud rather than asking Wolf.

Wolf wrote down what Fox was asking about as well as writing down a few other questions that needed to be answered, on a note pad he had on his desk. He had been writing down all possible questions that were needed to be answered.

"Not to mention that she's been on the run for several years now. You'd think she'd come here for protection against you and the R.C." Wolf said gruffly.

"What if she doesn't know that this place exist?" Fox asked, meaning for him to answer this time round. Why wouldn't she know about this place? It's large enough to notice. Loud enough to notice, thanks to the occupants up front.

"Actually, beyond this asteroid belt is just dead space. Beyond that is where they keep the truly psychotic people. I forget what the subdivision was called..."

Fox flipped out his hologram map of the Lylat system to visually see. Fox zoomed in on the asteroid belt, specifically the Sargasso space hideout. All around them were giant boulders and dead space. Then he went further out; searching through the dead space, looking for something, anything that Wolf was talking about. Then a small whit dot appeared. Getting closer and closer, the white dot wasn't so small anymore. It was a multilevel building that was surrounded by many other similar looking buildings.

"That's it." Wolf stated, looking up at the map.

* * *

 **Chapters seem short but full of interesting things. ^^ They are actually long on my pc then on here which is weird. Some will be longer than this and should be up right after this.**


	4. Needing the Facts

After locating the mental hospital, Fox sent Slippy and Peppy there once they he sent them the coordinates. They followed soon after, heading toward the direction of their friends. Once the islands came into view they knew that this was the place. Each of the floating pieces of land were as large as a small air ship, one happened to be at least ten yards long. That particular building was most likely the main building. The others were connected to one another by a thin strip of land. The ship slowed to a stop at the entrance gate which was a force field and that was heavily guarded. Before they could enter they had to speak with a uniformed guard that greeted them.

"This place is off limits until further notice." The falcon spoke in a tone of authority.

"This is Star Fox and Star Wolf under the command of General Peppers to enter when ready."

"Any identification?" Fox handed the falcon the pass card that Peppers had given to Fox in case he came into any restricted area. The card gave them an all-out pass to areas such as the Airlunnly Asylum or any military facilities that he might have to visit. The guard ran the information through the data log. It rummaged through the encrypted code before the screen lit up a bright florescent green.

"You can pass" He waved off to another guard who was located atop one of the two towers to let them through.

Nothing much was discovered, other then Lollipop had indeed been there at the hideout and before them. Fox had filled their teams on their small discovery. They were awaiting Peppy and Slippy to return to the Great Fox and with some good news.

 **(Time Skip)**

Peppy and Slippy were sent ahead to the asylum to check out how Lollipop acted and behaved in the institute during her time there. Fox sent them the map and headed off as soon as they could. They were duly noted that it would take a while before Wolf, Fox, and the others would meet up with them. Fox wanted to go over a few things before they head out there with them. Slippy previously told Peppy, through their com-links, that he'll be running through their software in order to come up with a solution on how she managed to escaped.

"Well by the looks of that there gate, it doesn't look like she could've gotten out without a fight."

"I don't think the gate was here when she was, Peppy"

Once they had gotten onto solid ground, they got out of their arwings and headed for the front doors. Both made their way to the front desk where they'll ask to speak with the highest authority they have. Walking through the set of double glass doors, cool-conditioned air blew against their faces and causing a slight chill to run through them. Upon entering the building, they immediately took notice of the patients that sat around the lobby. There are also a few nurses that are attending to their needs as well as watching over them while they're out here. Different puzzles and games had been set out for them to play with, something to occupy their time and their attention. All three of the TV's were mounted on the walls, each playing the same children's show. It was a few colorful puppets signing about friendship, honesty, numbers and colors. Simple things that they can understand.

There was a goat who seemed to be in his late forties who stood near the TV off to Peppy's left. He stood there watching the television and fiddling with his hands in a nervous motion. In the far corner of the lobby was three other patients playing games. Two nurses were teaching them how to play it but the zebra sitting next to the young looking fox just kept eating the cards in a zombie like fashion. The bull at least tried to understand the game and was laughing as he was being taught. Then, over to Peppy's right was a white colored rat girl staring at them with a creepy expression. It was like she was attacking them with her eyes. A lizard nurse noticed this and came to get her, gently pulling her in the direction of the hallway that was towards their right, the girl hadn't taken her eyes off them as she was lead away and back to her room.

After running his eyes over the room, Slippy turned his attention to the male goat that was sitting at the information desk. His large and polished pearl horns were almost as long as he was, maybe longer. Slippy was indeed a short toad, but that was to be expected from most amphibians like him. The man was overly muscular for the veins in his arms were practically bulging out of his skin. Not only that, but his marine green shirt did not help his situation because it was skin tight from first glance but it didn't seem to bother the giant. He looked to be going through papers and files on the computer before him. It looked like he hadn't notice him and Peppy coming in, so Slippy walked up to the desk to grab his attention, leaving Peppy standing there as he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Excuse me sir, but do you know who we could talk to about an old patient that was here years ago? Like a headsmen or something of the sort?"

The grey goat looked over the desktop to see Slippy standing there. If he hadn't, then he would've mistaken him for a child. It has happened before. Only because of how short Slippy is and unlike most males who have a even tone for their gender and whatever bred they were, Slips had a rather high-childlike voice and was often treated like a kid because of it.

"If it's information about a patient then you're at the right place. I can do the best I can but there are things that only the headsmen can tell you. But you'll have to wait until they're done with their meeting if you're planning to talk with them. It shouldn't be before too long before they'll be done."

The green toad was taken back a bit when he heard the mountain giant speak. The calm tone of voice and level of loudness that came through his mouth was not to be expected. Even though he was thrown off for a minute, Slippy pulled himself back together.

His coco brown hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail and laid over his shoulder. The man only glanced at him once before returning his attention back to his work. Seeing the chance to get some information that might not be given to them otherwise was a chance that he leapt at.

"Well, you wouldn't happen to know a patient by the name of Lollipop Tycoon, would you?"

While he typed away at his computer, Slippy took the liberty to read his nametag. Written across the small and thin silver piece of metal in cursive was the name Edwin. Edwin then stopped typing and spoke.

"Personally no, I haven't. And if I did, I wouldn't know. I work in the children's ward." short, sweet, and to the point is how he spoke. "Besides we don't identify the people here by their names, we use ID numbers that are given to them when they're registered here. I can probably tell you that, just give me a moment."

Edwin is an extremely helpful guy, he thought to himself, It's like he's been through this over a hundred times already. Slippy was grateful for such great help but he paused for a moment, skimming back over that thought for a second and realized something was off about that sentence. He eyed Edwin curiously and at the same time, as if reading his mind Edwin said "I used to be a cop." That would explain the straight face he wore and how Edwin was one step ahead of him.

"Here we are" He announced. He wrote down the seven digit number on a blue sticky note without looking away from the screen and handed it to Slippy before saying "I'll let you know when they're ready to see you."

"It's most appreciated, thanks. But would you mind telling me what you've heard about her, if anything? It doesn't matter how little or unimportant it may seem."

"I have heard that she was a real piece of work to handle. She mainly refused her weekly shots and any food that was prepared for her. She often caused troubled." Edwin paused for a moment and wondered if they were even talking about the same girl. "Are we talking about the same girl that's been all over the news lately? The one that the Star Fox team is going to arrest?"

"Yeah, that's her. We need as much as information as we can get if we want to catch her." Slippy explained.

"Okay." Edwin realized that this young toad was part of the Star Fox team, though he wasn't the type of guy to get star struck when he saw or met someone of legendary importance. "Besides that there's rumors about her." He went into explaining each one like stories and in as much detail from what he was told as possible. It went from her slamming herself against the cushioned walls and floor to her standing in the middle of her room and staring at the camera that was place in each of the rooms.

"It wasn't a bulky type of model was it?"

"Oh no. Some of the patients have a wicked sense of paranoia so the cameras are extremely small so you wouldn't notice them at first. And half the time you could tell that she was sleep walking, but at other times it seemed like she was possessed. I also heard that whenever you passed by her door that it felt like something was watching you and it was only her room that you ever go past that gave off that feeling." The way he explained it, the words he choose to use to describe it was like he had went past the room during that time and felt those eyes, whomever they belonged to. It sent shivers all through the small toad. Of course there were some that he's already heard of like the building blowing up after she's left, but those didn't have such a creepy demeanor like these newly heard ones. The thought reminded him of when he found a fan based web site for Lollipop.

There were blogs linked to the site as well as videos and images of her and one or two of the recent incidents that happened. The comments were continuous and full of excitement as teens commented how attractive she looked and how they'd love to meet her and commented about her stunts, saying that they were the "stuff of legend". These kids don't realize how dangerous she is and that if they met her in real life that she'd most likely kill them for fun. Then again it didn't seem like she would be the type of psycho path that would kill for pleasure, she knows she wouldn't get anything out of it besides publicity. Then there were the people who were against her. People who were probably the parents of those teens who were fans of hers. He's heard many people call her a "A complete maniac". It could be a strong debate between fans and haters if it came all down to it. People just couldn't make up their minds.

Slippy continued to write what he felt to be necessary to remember. Bullet after bullet he jotted down a few things about what happened and anything else that Edwin had said.

"But then there's this one that I've heard a few times and still can't believe that they allowed to happen."

"What is it?" Slippy asked

"Back when this place had a different headsmen, I've heard that there were a few security nurses that would pay her a visit and the next day when she would be checked up on, there were bruises and bumps all over her. The nurse that worked her schedule noticed it but couldn't do anything about. They were probably scared for their life."

Slippy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure he's hear of things like this being told to people he knew but he didn't ever think he would be the one hearing something like this instead of being told through a friend who got it from a reliable source. The two males could agree that it was right, what they done to her but that was back then. He was for certain that if Fox knew about this and had informed Peppers about it then that headsmen would have lost their job as well as those awful nurses. Abusing patients in any way, shape, or form was illegal and the convector would be sentenced to twenty to life in jail for such an act if they were to be caught.

"It was obviously overlooked but why?"

"That's what I asked myself and the person who told me but no one knew why except those three that done the act. If I remember correctly, the old headsmen was John Filler. I'm not exactly certain but I'm pretty sure that's it."

Slippy continued on with asking about how the establishment was run and how things were from his prospective. While Slippy had been doing so, Peppy took the chance to examine the place, what he can see thus far. He wrote down where the cameras were located, vents and hallways and any exists that were in each island. More specifically the one where she was kept. Configuring what her escape routes would be and what she could have used as weapons to help make her escape would be a little challenging. There were at least twenty different possibilities that he saw already after coming in and there's a strong chance that there might be even more and they have yet to uncover it. First things first, they have to start with Lollipop's room.

Starting from where they are now, Peppy scanned the room to comprise a three dimensional image, a map or layout of the establishment of you will. He looked at the image and sees that there's twelve cameras in this room alone. Four were in each corner of the the small off section to his left and to his right. That made eight. Two were facing the desk from above the front door and two facing the door from above the goat behind the desk. That made four, then with the other eight made twelve all together. That's a lot of security for a place like this, Peppy thought to himself. It was understandable that they have so much surveillance because this sector was known for keeping the most insane people locked away and hid that by appearing as a psychiatric ward for the mentally ill.

As he gazed over the room, looking back and forth between the room around him and what the diagram showed him, he saw three air vents that could make for an exceptional escape route. One was atop of the wall in the far corner to the left side of the room, right about the three patients playing a card game. The second one was right above the desk, facing the floor. And the last one was on the bottom of the wall next to the hallway to the right. _How convenient._ It was like they were purposely allowing her to get away by placing the most obvious way out right were the exit is. Then again, they never thought she'd try to escape. There was no doubt in Peppy's mind that she used them for her own advantage. It was an easy way for her to take what she wanted, hide, and find a way out without being caught. He is going to ask for a blueprint of the building's original designs to compare the one he's making now to anything that could have been sealed up over time.

It didn't take Slippy too long before he came over with some good news about what he received from the attendant at the desk.

"So I got some new tips about what she's done that could help and he ID number that we can run through the criminal data base to see if that can get any hits."

"That's good. At least we're getting some where..."

Peppy stared at Slippy's notepad as he went over the notes, reading a few of them. That's when he thought about why they were here. It didn't make sense.

"You okay Peppy?" Slippy asked concerned.

"I'm fine. It's just that I don't get it."

"Get it? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've been thinking it over and over about what we were hired for. I mean this girl does seem lethal and dangerous but if how could she escaped a psychiatric ward is she was mental? She couldn't have put two and two together and came out with running away as a solution." Peppy has a point. There is a lot to question about the assignment and the target but now wasn't exactly the best time to be questioning their task in a way that can possibly get fired.

"I've never heard of her before now so maybe she was crazy before she came here. Have you thought about people that could have been in her life that she could want revenge on?"

"No. Now that you've mentioned it, that makes a lot of more sense now."

"Glad to help," Slippy smiled "but uh what are you doing Peppy?"

Slippy looked at the hologram that hovered above the piece of technology in Peppy's hands.

"I plan to map the place as we walk through and get a hold of the original blue prints and compare the two together."

"That sounds like a good idea. Edwin, behind the desk, said that he'll let us know when the headsmen is free to see us. Any clue how she got out?"

"Yeah. See these air vents? There's three alone in the lobby. Perfectly placed right by the door."

Before Slippy could speak, Edwin called over to him. Letting them know that he'll be escorting them to the headsmen's office.

As they continued through the empty halls and heavily built doors, faces appearing in the small windows that allowed a person to look in or out of it. The further they went into the maze of haunted dreams, the air getting just a little chillier than a few minutes ago as they cam upon a wooden door with a bigger window than the other doors. Edwin had them stop momentarily as he knocked on the door. A female cheetah came to the door. The two spoke briefly in a low voice before Edwin went back to his post and she smiling warmly at the both of them.

"Please, come in." she gestured for them to come in and have a seat. "What can I do for you lovely gentlemen?"

The office was as how they would have assumed it to be. Thick walls with cabinets lined up along the walls and seven drawers high. At the back of the room, along the wall, had another four metal cabinets standing behind her desk. The desk was a good five feet wide and was built out of thin metal. Her desk was cluttered with papers about programs of various of sorts. One was about visitation rights to the institute or have their loved one visit them at their home. She had stated multiple times to the board that it was simply not a good idea. But families insist and will continue to pressure them until they change their minds. Another sheet was loaded with numbers and names of the patients that were currently here. Majority of the other files were covered up by other ones, flipped over or inside a folder. Other then that, there was a bookshelf that sat off to the right of the room. Peppy and Slippy sat in the two chairs that were in front of the wide desk. Atop of her desk was a name plate that said Ms Walker.

"I am Peppy Hare, strategist and this is one of my teammates Slippy Toad. He's our inventor and engineer"

"Please to meet the both of you." she smiled sweetly "What are you here, if I may ask?"

"Of course. Peppy and I, as you should know that were apart of the mercenary team Star Fox. We're here to investigate an escaped patient that was here years ago. We were just wondering if you could fill us on anything that we might have missed before hand."

She gave it a thought. Ms. Walker didn't know of this patient they were speaking of. Then again, she wasn't here back then.

"Depends on what I can find for you. Oh, you're welcome to call me Ms. Walker if you'd like." She pulled up a log of the hospitals records on everyone who was here. Meaning patients, deceased or living, employees, and the any previous headsmen that worked here before her. "How long ago are you wanting to go back?"

"Eight years." Slippy said

Ms. Walker paused for a second. Eight years, she thought. That's a while ago but she counted back eight full years.

"Here. Edwin wrote this number down for me. It should be her ID number." Slippy handed her the blue sticky note.

She took at and looked at it, and typed it in. After it loaded, a picture came up. Under the image was a small summary about the individual. She turn the computer screen towards them so that they can confirm that this is whom they're looking for.

"That's wrong." Peppy said. Both looked at the image in disbelief.

The picture was a female dog that was different shades of brown and white with shoulder length brown hair. One of her eyes was a silky grey coloring but the other was a grey type of blue. Both of her ears were flopped over as she looked up towards the camera with a hateful glint in her eyes.

"What do you mean this isn't who you're looking for? The IDs match. Fifteen, fifteen, thirty-two, four."

Slippy pulled up a hologram image of her hanging upside down in front of a security camera.

"Hmmmm...I haven't seen her in any of the records, just the news."

That didn't make any sense. If this was indeed her ID number, and this girls ID number then why isn't there a picture of Lollipop under there. "Let me check the cabinet real quick. If you need to, go ahead and look through the files on there."

Slippy came around the desk and began rummaging through files. Some were easy to get into while others had pass codes and encryptions on it. There were files on each patient here, past and present. A thought occurred to him, maybe her file was stored away with others that were previously here.

"Would you mind explaining why two people have the same ID number?" Peppy asked her.

"I can only imagine that it's som sort of organization technique. This place can hold up to four million people, And that's not including the employees." Ms Walker continued to flip through the records for the identical number to see if what she thinks is true. "I'm just assuming that because the head of this establishment here had died a few years ago. They never did explain what happened to him just that one day he ended up dead. And that's when the hired me. He was suppose to show me the ropes of how to run a place like this. But besides that..." she was nearing to the number. "I just figured that that's all the people he was going to put into this place. So every time a patient goes home or dies and another one is registered, then the new patient takes the ID number of the old patient."

It made sense to organize in such a odd way. What's even more so odd was that there wasn't anything on this man's death. When Peppy heard that, he made a mental note to search this guy up and read about him just to cover their tracks.

"So that means what? That her file was printed off and stored in a filing cabinet?"

"Pretty much." finally she pulled out the file. By File, it means the last ten people to have the same ID number. "There's ten here, so here are some you can look through." Ms Walker handed Peppy half of the stack while Slippy continued to look through the history of the place and any other factors that might be important. "What does this person look like?" Peppy was the one to fill her in.

"She's a female wolf with long blonde hair." The image they had shown her was in black in white which didn't really help but to identify what she looked like without color. She nodded and flipped through the files. Every file had a small picture of the person, paper clipped to the rest of the papers.

No. No. No. Ms. Walker thought to herself. That was when Peppy announced that he found the correct file.

"This is her...and under the same number." All that was in her file was a single sheet that explained nothing that wasn't obvious.

"It says that she's eighteen years old at the time of her arrest. The arrest was made because she was mentally unstable. With no one living with her, they had to take her here because the court felt like she was a danger to herself and others, therefore she was registered as a patient. Her age is eighteen at the time. She was one-hundred-sixty-eight pounds at five foot one inch." Ms. Walker read. It looked like someone had written something at the bottom of her page. It read "And they thought she was crazy then".

Was that a statement claiming that she wasn't as crazy back then as she was now? The person who wrote that comment was someone who had access to this room. They'll have that analyzed once they get back to the Great Fox. Above that was her current weight, height, and age, which she had just read aloud.

"What's her name?" Asked Ms. Walker.

"We were hoping that you could tell us." Slippy said "But everyone knows her as Lollipop Tycoon. She's been all over the galaxy."

Slippy loaded everything that was on the computer to two flash drives that he carried with him. He was going to take whatever information that was on the piece of hardware and scan it through the system back on the ship, then send it to his father and his colleagues to further inspect it just in case the system, or him, had missed something that could be useful. Besides that he didn't read anything that could have helped them.

"We're gonna need to take this with us." Peppy said

"Of course. Is there anything else that I could help you with?"

"We'll also need the building's original blue prints and we need to examine the room she was in while she was here." Slippy quickly added "Oh, and all the footage from all the security cameras. You can just give us those before we leave."

"I'll have someone get the blue prints." She picked up the black desk phone and set it to her ear as she pressed two buttons to call the front desk. Edwin picked up and spoke through the other line. She told him that she needs the buildings blue prints and to keep it with him until they leave and then they hung up. "If you follow me, I'll take you to her room."

Once they had gotten down the hallway and turned three corners, walking down the long corridors, Peppy scanned and added to the hologram model as they were on their way to her cell. After turning another two corners, they were there. The numbers fifteen, fifteen, thirty-two, four was printed in bold above the door.

"So their ID numbers are their room numbers?" Slippy asked.  
"Yes. Makes it a little easier to kept track of them and where they're supposed to be. They also get them tattooed on their arms in case if one was to escape." She explained.

After they surveyed her room, they thanked Ms. Walker for her time and help and told her that they will contact her if they had any further questions. On they're way out, all tapes from the cameras had been pulled and given to them along with the blue prints.

They got into their Arwings in time to see the Great Fox pull in. Flying just below the ship, the bottom hatch opened up to let them in.

 **(Time Skip)**

NUS closed the loading dock's hatch after Peppy and Slippy docked their Arwings. The two went to the command center to give their report.

"That was it?" Fox asked.

"Yup. It's like she didn't even exist? "Slippy said "Are you okay Fox?"

Even though Wolf handed him a whole lot of reports of her, of each incident, and that one sheet from the Airlunnly Asylum. Besides all that information on each report, all those details was helpful but useless. They only explained what happened at that point in time. What they need is how she behave and what she reacts to. The papers do help in that topic, but only so much. Another way they help by doing so, is the locations. With each location, they could keep track on where she's been and where it looks like she might be heading towards. Again, that only helps to a certain extent. But that one sheet, the registration paper, is what they already had.

"While Slippy was talking to the desk clerk, I made a hologram model of the building." Peppy took the retractable usb cord for his multi-tool wrist band and connected it to the systems mainframe. A larger hologram model appeared in front of them. Everything was a metallic blue except for a few spots which were a green. The objects that were green were the air vents and doors. Anything that was red was something that she could have used to her advantage. There was one thing that was black and that was her door.

"This is her room." he pointed to her room as he zoomed in to view the inside. "Lollipops room is designed to keep herself safe. If you read here, " a sheet of paper appeared next to the footage that was extracted from the inside camera "you can see several different dates. She's slung herself against the walls of her room multiple times.

Some out of anger and fits of sadness but other times it seems that she was just doing it for no reason." Peppy stated and pressed play.

Lollipops long hair was braided back along down her back and was frizzy. She was strapped in a white jacket that kept her arms crossed over her front, and the sleeves were longer than her arms. The jacket reached her mid thigh, her tail poking out from under it. She wasn't even wearing anything on her feet; she was barefoot. Lollipops back was to the camera as she paced back and forth before launching herself at the wall where the door was. She bounced back, the cushioned wall forming to her body as the pressure built up and threw her in the opposite direction, hitting the floor in the process, then struggling to get back up with restricted arms. The next three times she did this and landed face first against the floor. Getting up after the fourth time being slung back, she looked up at the camera. Her eyes squinting as she came to realization that there was a camera in her room. The next few moments she simply laid there on the floor.

The video feed was paused. The screen showed seven more individual pages and videos right next to one another.

"These are the only ones that Slippy and I could point out right away to match with these sheets."

"Okay. Krystal, contact the commander of the R.C if you would." She nodded and went to the phone on looked for the number to call him. "This is a good start thus far."

"You say that now." Wolf chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

Wolf has had a few run ins' with the crazed wolf. It was a few years ago but that was something he wasn't really in the mood to talk about, at least not right now but in time. For now he'll just see where this will go. He needs to get his priorities straight. Put the jack back in his box before pulling back the curtain. His plan may not be bullet proof but he sure as hell can manage with a few dents.


	5. A Plan in Motion

A orange cascaded across the sky as it turned to night. Not a single creature in sight. Not one that could be seen in the dark, anyway. Lolly was pacing back and forth on the outstretched landscape. The rock layer met the sky, a long distance away. If she wanted to, she could run and run as she would try to go where the land meets the sky.

It is a beautiful sight. Too bad she couldn't take it in. Letting the cool crisp air brush her skin as she would stand there gazing at the horizon. She wanted to stand there for an eternity, accepting that she'll there was a chance that she'll die alone, wondering what she could do with her life if things had occurred in a different manner.

She turned down the thinking knob in her head and listened to the emptiness that surrounded her.

There is not a whole lot that she has. A pillow, blanket, and the clothes on her back. All, of course, is stolen. Anything else that she is abl to get on her hands will most likely be the next stolen object that she'll need.

Lollipop was in the motion of configuring a plan and anything she could use as a weapon. Her began to race with different senecioses of what were possible outcomes of each act she would use.

Just because she didn't have a lot of fancy weapons or high tech gear doesn't mean she doesn't have a chance with the R.C. troops or the Star Fox team for that matter. She's rounded them too many times to let them trip her up now. Lolly snatched up a few of their toys the last time she paid them a visit. She loaded the duffle bag with smoke bombs, different guns, a few knives, miniature bombs, knock out gas and a hand held laser or two. They were nice and fun to play with.

"But what's even more fun than playing with these nice toys, " she began talking to herself "is being able to play with them with a playmate that can take the heat." She loaded a shock pistol, filling it with its uniquely made rounds.

She in her makeshift hideout that was made up by wood and rocks. Large bolder's were formed together and acted as her walls. Ones in that won't ever come down. A thin peach colored sheet separated a corner of the small place, indicating that, that is where she slept. Tall, thick slacks of wood that she had found on her way here, made her door. A rock wall stood in front of her, pictures covered it. Images of each member of the Star Fox and Star Wolf teams. They, besides Commander Tompson and General Peppers, were the only people whom she was even concerned with.

"Little mister Robin Hood to the rescue," Lolly twirled a butchers knife in her hand as she walked over towards the pictures. "thinks he can run around on my play ground at tea time, huh?"

Five feet between her and Fox's picture. She aimed, letting her breathing come to a slow brisk pace as she arched the knife backwards. By time she breathed out, she was letting the handle go. In a matter of seconds the knife hit the black of Fox's nose. The paper torn as the sharp object struck the thin slice of paper, keeping it wedged in between the rock.

"I don't think so. Now all I need is a plan. A plan in which I will succeed in. Nothing complicated" As she thought about what she could do, she came to the conclusion that there was too many to just pick one.

"I could pin them against one another. I could kill someone and blame it on one of them. Or I could hide some very delicate information and other important references in one of their rooms to make it look like their trying to help me."

Each one was perfectly planned out and practically full proof. There was just the one little, bug sized problem. Wolf O'Donnell. She's met up with him every now and then throughout the years and has proven helpful when it concerned him or his little lizard friend. One of them would be in danger and the other would happen to be in the neighborhood, and at other times it would be the both of them in the same boat. Oh how she wanted to stay by his side, killing people for hundreds of dollars at a time was a delightful idea that often crossed her mind. It would linger there for a while, building its own nest to make sure it will always return. Usually she would toss it aside like it was some sort of rag doll that stitched to scare the common sense out of people, and she switched her focus on more important business.

But she couldn't help but wonder why she feels something, if anything, for him. He was an extremely handsome man with his rugged good looks and all. Wolf was a very fit man, six pack, biceps, and pecks. Everything a woman would want her dream man to look like on the outside. Not only that, but his deep voice is what drove her mad. When he barked orders and growled in response, to anything, and to Lolly it was inherently sexy. _'And woman say they love a man in uniform.'_ She thought to herself.

Though, Lollipop could only toy around with him for so long. They would make a fabulous team if they were both up for it, but seeing as he was just like any other dirty crum bag out in the world, she went against the idea. After all, he was working with the goody-two-shoes Fox McCloud. His team wouldn't let a girl like her get away with what's already happened over the years, even if they've just recently heard of her. All she could do it wonder what was going on in their heads. What were they being told and by whom? Questions she knew she would never hear an answer to. It was much like being a rock and stuck in a tough situation.

Lolly told herself the day they dragged to that hell hole, that they will regret ever doing so. For letting that killer go without a word said to him. Why didn't the believe her? Why did they lock her away for a year? Why didn't he keep his promise? It was hard to swallow with a big lump in her throat. It was hard to see through blurry eyes. It was even more so difficult to breath when she couldn't catch a breath that was running away from her. Life isn't fair. That is what her human step-father always told her and it was true. There was no way around it. But why? It was never good enough. Thinking back to all those times where she's felt stupid or an outcaste because she was a anthropomorphic, or a "furry", as what the other kids would call her.

It was rare when she smiled a genuine smile or laughed so hard that her ribs hurt. She couldn't remember a time where everything was so nice and sweet and everything felt perfect. That it felt the way it should.

Lollipop walked back to the files that were scattered across the ground beneath the pictures. All those times she's felt sorry for herself, and now thinking back on it, she decided that she doesn't care. She hasn't care since the day she turned sixteen. After that, it was like a war had broken out from it's glass casing and launched itself to the stars where adventure awaited. Lolly wanted to see the fun in everything.

"They say look at the bright side...well I say look at the fun side." She held up a sheet that spoke of six different deaths concerning a certain individual. "When I get my hands on you...you'll beg for mercy." Lolly swung around, a raging fire burning in the black of her eyes as she felt the sudden urge to kill. "This isn't over until you die! I'm not scared and you can tell that to your damn leader that I said so!"

She screamed to the darkness that surrounded her. It was just her and any creepy crawly that wanted to stalk her. She wanted to scream to the skies until she could feel her lungs burning like a spark set to oil. She wants the intensity of the sun to hit her full frontal. But every time it did, she was left there standing. It just wasn't her time yet.

Lollipop lock and loaded her gun, strapped a knife on the inside of her shoe, one on the inside of stocking on her inner thigh and one in between her shoulder blades. She then stuck three smoke bombs in her pockets, along with two light bombs and two knock out gas. If all else fails, she'll resort to fist fighting and cheep tricks like twisting nipples or kicking one of them in their groin. That last one usually does the trick, Lolly thought to herself. She then jumped onto her hover bike, revving the engine and popping a anti-gravity bubble around herself. It lifted her into the air until she was far enough to pop open an oxygen bubble around herself as she flew off into deep space. She was going to get her revenge one way or another.

"My revenge will be a dish served with a lollipop hehehe".


	6. The one and only, Lollipop

Down in the weapons department of the Great Fox, just a floor below the command center, Slippy was showing the StarWolf team the weapons that you'll be using on their field work. Slippy was the one Fox asked to escort them only because Slippy was the one to invent majority of their weapons and he would better explain what their purpose is and how the objects work. He also asked Slippy if he could load Wolf and his team up so that they would be ready to go. Wolf and his team are going to do a little recon on the surface of the world below. General Peppers sent a fax telling Fox that he needs to send the Star Wolf to the planet Arnia because a tourist had reported their sighting of Lollipop within the area. There just might be a chance that she might still be there if they were lucky.

The Arniains are a peaceful race that rather save violence as last resort. They rarely ever use it for any means necessary. With their high intelligence they proclaim that they see no use in violence and will always find a logical way to solve their problems. One thing that this majestic race has created is an isotope that can repair anything from their world. General Peppers had planned on negotiating for some of the thick liquid but heard it wouldn't work on anything that wasn't originally from Arnia. Even though he couldn't get any of their useful liquid, they still do trade. The Arniains trade their healing plants and exotic medicines for Corneria's technology. Just the simple things like cell phones, headphones, televisions and music. The people rather keep as close to tradition as possibly for as long as possible and not become so wrapped up in technology like most worlds are already.

Arnia is a beautiful place. Various of summer time plants such as palm trees, peach trees, and berry bushes grow on the winter-less planet. Beaches stretched across the land on each island, all over the planet. There was no concrete, no buildings, wires or any of the sort on the land. Arnia was two times the size of Corneria. Its waters were a deep blue that you could see into a good six feet. Arnia was made up of eighty-five percent water, but most of the water seeped through to caverns under the islands. But because the planet is made up of mostly water, it makes it hard for them to have any visitors since more times than not, they breath air and not water. Even if they don't receive many visitors they are still grateful when they do have neighbors coming.

"Anybody know what this place is like?" Leon asked as he set his gun down to charge.

"Well, " Slippy started "they are a peaceful race as far as I know."

"And they call you the smart one."

"Hey." Slippy whined.

"Knock it off Leon."

"What Wolf? I'm only picking" He snickered.

"Well your 'picking' could get us fired, so knock it off." Wolf spoke sternly in a serious tone as he could to give Leon the hint that he doesn't plan on failing at this, especially since it included the part in which if they did achieved their goal then the bounty on their heads would be wiped clean. Ever since the idea of himself finally being able to relax and not have to worry about being arrested and that he could possibly spend a good year or two away from his life of crime, seemed that much more interesting. Wolf most certainly won't let Leon screw that up for him either.

Wolf loaded his gun with its custom made bullets. Popping open the carthage he put the glowing green glass orbs into it, one after the other and closing it after the seventh one. Each were no bigger than half the size of his palm.

"I hear the Arniains are quite friendly to their guests. They love having visitors" Panther purred, checking the few weapons that he secretly carried with him to make sure that they are properly working and locked so that they wouldn't be accidentally used as he was working. Wolf spoke up and described what it was like on the surface since Slippy hadn't a clue what it was like in the first place.

"Yeah. That's when you first arrive. If you piss them off then they'll feed your corpse to the Muhtah. They swim below the waters surface."

"I haven't heard that before." Slippy admitted. He knew he was smart but that doesn't mean he knew everything about everything and he knew that.

"But what's a Muhtah?"

"It's a water type creature. It has four eyes, three blow holes, and three sets of flippers. Each set jus a little behind the set before it. They're just like whales and dolphins on Earth." Wolf explained.

"Earth?"

"Yeah. Earth is the only life based planet in the milky way galaxy. That's two galaxies away from here but that's besides the point."

"I'm impressed Wolf." Panther commented. "You've been just about every where in the universe haven't you?"

"When you lived the life of a space pirate, you learn quite a few things and see three times as much."

"Okay...as much as I would love to hear more about this 'Earth' place, I should really get you guys loaded and up to date with our status readings." Slippy said.

The green toad took out three metallic balls from out of a case that was sitting atop of the able to his left. Each one was the same size, different colors. He picked one up. The ball sat in the palm of his hand as he closed the case that held the other two. It looked to be some sort of bomb. The three concurred that it would be too small to cause a big explosion so it had to be used for something else of the sort. It was small but looked to have some weight to it and the entire ball was a reflective metal with two green buttons. Both buttons were located on the top and bottom of the sphere.

"This little baby will knock out anyone you'd use it on."

Leon snickered and said "Well that depends on how much of a good aim you have, hehehe."

"Ha ha, very funny. As I was saying, all you have to do is press one or both sides. That will release the sleeping gas inside it. Once it's out, just run away from it or hold your breath."

Slippy put back the green one in his hand back into the box. He then pulled out two more. Both were the same size and shape but different colors. The one he held in his right hand was also metallic but with blue buttons instead of green and the one he held in his left hand was red with black buttons. Slips held the blue buttoned orb slightly higher.

"This one is like a regular bomb but with a smaller explosion radius. Perfect for anyone who gets ambushed while doing recon. You can also use it anyway you see fit to keep your target in sight. You can activate both of these the same way as the first one, by pressing botch or either buttons." He switched the heights of the two, making the other higher then the first one.

"Now the red one is a little tricky. Just like the SX, which is the small explosion bomb I just showed you, and the first one, you can use them however you like. This is a light bomb. It projects an extremely bright light so don't look at it. It _will_ blind you. Besides these, you have your own weapons that you specialize in and the ones that were providing for you."

"That's great and all but I doubt we'll be needing those to catch her." Wolf said, loading his gun. The gun was small and black, just slightly bigger than his hand. No accessories added on to different needs. He checked his ammo to make sure he had a decent amount on him for extra measures. Once he did he lock and loaded the cartage in its place.

"Well, for safety measures your going to have to take two of each bombs."

"And who's going to make me?" Wolf snapped. It was bad enough that he was having to take orders from an inexperienced pup like Fox, but now he had to take each and every safety precaution and procedure that would just take up more time. That and having to wait until they had authorization was taking up even more time than making sure they had everything before they left. There was no doubt in Wolf's mind that it took a little over four months to even consider having the Star Fox team help with the governments target.

"Fox's orders. He said that if you said that to tell you that he didn't need you dead just because you don't wanna be safe in the field."

Wolf smirked. At least the kid is growing a pair for a change, Wolf thought to himself.

"Fine."

Each took two of each bomb, securing them in their place on their utility belts. Slippy then guided the three to a large platform.

"Just step up there for now and I'll send you guys down there in no time. Fox will be on the inner com with you once you've reached the waters. Good luck."

Once they stood on the platform, Slippy pressed a red button that was hidden under a small grey colored box that matched the hangers wall. When he pressed the button, a clear orb captured them and enclosing them within the bubble. The doors that kept them from falling out of the hanger opened, letting them fall towards the ocean below them. Slippy watched as the fell towards it, soon retreating back to his station.

"Once we get there, they'll meet us at the doors. Each of us will have guards following us around to protect us. You can ask them anything you want...that's pertaining to the mission."

Wolf eyed Leon as he smirked. He knew Wolf was talking about him. Wolf had to be specific with his orders or Leon would wonder off on his own and somehow mess the task up and get them fired. There was no way he was going to let him screw this mission up for him. If they actually get to solve this case and have it filed under classified and solved then the bounty on their heads will be paid and they could roam free. Wolf could finally walk outside and not get shot at because people would want the money in exchange for his head. The thought was constantly haunting the back of his mind like a bad rash.

Once the trio was geared up and ready to go, Slippy then guided the team to the launching bay where they'll be placed in a specially designed underwater craft.

"If you'd just step onto the red X over there for a moment, I'll have you guys off to the surface in no time."

The StarWolf did as they were asked and stood above the marked area. It wasn't too long that Leon began to realize that they were standing on a launch pad. Then, as if out of nowhere, a giant bubble enclosed the team in a ten foot radius sphere that was completely clear.

"You couldn't have told us you were going to do that?" Leon annoyingly complained to Slippy. If this job wasn't so important then he would have strangled the fat green blob by now.

"Where's the fun in that? But here, let me help you this time by telling you to prepare yourselves for the next move I'll make." Slippy stood beside a small box that was attached to the wall. Flipping the lid open was a red button inside. He gave a sly smile to the three and slammed his fist down upon the button, opening the hatch below the three man team.

The bubble was free falling through the air, blowing through the thinnest layer of clouds, crashing into the blue liquid and soon sinking yards below the waters surface. Propelling itself with a small motor in its rear, it pushed forward. Passing by various of the worlds' marine life, from little as the mimi, which were as small as a childs hand, to the Muhtah, which were twice the size of a male whale. Once they get to the inner doors they're going to need to interview the witness and the last location the individual had seen her at. Besides that all they could really do is search for her in the sanctum and pray that they'll find her.

In the early hours of the planets morning Lollipop landed on Arnias' surface. Her spacecraft, one that she had "borrowed" from the Cornerian troops was totaled. She managed to sneak onto one of the ships and knock out the pilot with ease. After they had realized she had jacked one of their ships, it was too late. Lollipop was already heading towards the endless star filled sky. It was only when she entered the Arnia atmosphere did the spacecraft began to heat up, bursting into flames as it made its way towards the planets surface. Burning past the point of repairs once it was landed. As the heat began to simmer up the inside of the ship, it reminded her of a time when she would be sipping on a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. The image reminded her of her life before this crime that she had taken. She dearly missed her life before at times like these, and what she wouldn't give to have it back. The white, eye blinding blanket that would cover yards on end. Slippery yet silky smooth ice formed icicles here and there, hanging from the gutters and bushes to the lining of the fence. But now wasn't the time for reminiscing.

"All for nothing." Lollipop told herself as she traveled through the wondrous landscape that much resembled the amazon forest on earth. Whispers of faintly haunting voices guided her through the greenery. They told her specifically which way to go. Over large rocks, through man sized bushes and a cave of pitch blackness. The voices, the ones that she once thought that were telling her lies, the white side, the side that blinds people who don't want to know or just wouldn't be able to handle the truth. Now she sees that they were on her side. They've been telling her to grab that document but never explained as to why. The side of the coin left rusted and untouched. The voices, the ones telling her the truth, that's what they tell her. It's like they know just what to say. They keep her safe. Telling her that they'll do this and that at the exact moment they do it. Lollipop has come to trust the voices. That's why she believed them because they were right. They've proved trustworthy enough times. But why waste so many lives, time, and effort for nothing? There had to be a reason, one she just couldn't see yet. It might not be one she'll ever find. That was alright with her.

Just like Tompson had figured much is that she wasn't one way nor the other and she won't show them any time soon. For now Lollipop had to keep an eye out for that Wolf O'Donnell, he seemed to be trouble heading her way. A bad hurricane that will rip her world apart, making everything land upside down and turned all around. Even though she's heard of him and what he's capable of doesn't mean she has him all figured out just yet. She's yet to see him in action. Though she couldn't shake the question as to why he would work with his enemy. Lolly put herself in his shoes, which were mighty big enough without having to chase her around all day, and she pondered the few possibilities that floated in the air. The only remote answer she could come up with is that it had to be within his benefit. It was the only logical explanation for a rough and wanted type of man she assumed he is. It wasn't hard to tell that he was only looking out for himself. The universe still has to teach many souls the way of life, Lollipop thought to herself.

It wasn't too long before Lollipop would arrive at one of the many beaches that the planet has scattered across its surface. She continuously stepped over giant roots, ducked under large leaves and a occasional branch. It was that time of the year for the trees to start shedding off dead branches again. The only reason why she knew that was because of her last visit, where she stayed in their local library for hours reading about their culture and learning fun facts such as that the Muhtah were actually quite friendly if dealt with in the correct manner . Since her very first visit here to this extragenitally peaceful world, the Quadra and her have become good friends and one of the few that will ever see her harmless state of being. The Quadra was the highest state of importance in the city. In other words, the Quadra is basically mayor. It was more or less a code that she obeyed. If they aren't going to hurt her, then there would be no point in hurting them.

Lollipop continuously stepped over abnormally large tree roots and brushing past giant leaves only to trip on a rock. It caused her to roll down the slanted hill and onto the beach, face first in the heaps of sand in front of her. Pulling her face out of the seashell white sand and touching her nose gently, testing if it was broken.

"Damn it." She cursed under her breath. "Good thing it only stings."

She shook off the pain and walked to the edge of the beach where the the sandy surface meets another world. The crystal clear water was astonishing. Lollipop could stare into the water for hours if she tried. One could see twenty feet below the oceans surface without any problems, seeing everything. Nothing did it have to hide. Once a being got further and deep enough, the bottom of the ocean floor was a marvelous blue. Blue like a clear night sky. It much reminded her of a photo of these people setting on a small boat in waters just like these, back on earth. A lot of things were starting to remind her of dear Old mother earth. Oh how she's aged, She thought. It's been years since she was last there, but it's not like she couldn't always go back for a tour of the mysterious rock. _Then again, the milky way galaxy seems a bit too far for right now. Maybe next time._

Taking out a small red breathing tube, she popped open a bubble that she brought out of her pocket. The bubbles' purpose was to protect anything that wasn't water proof. It was a gracious gift from the Arniains as a sign of gratitude. Designed by one of their scientist specifically for tourist who weren't aquatic in any way. Not long after inventing it and a few months of advertising it on "Planet Nation-Know All", a commercial channel used just for advertising small businesses, newly designed products, and fun facts about planets that other people might not have known. That's when Arinia's tourism lifted out of the water and onto the surface, with each new day came new faces that greeted them with smiles. Lollipop was once one of those people four years ago. She had seen the commercial and bought a ticket to the planet to see what the world was like. The more she visited them, the more time she spent with the underwater race, the more they accepted her. As long as she wasn't violent towards them or the people that lived or visited then they won't treat her in a nasty demeanor like the rest of the galaxy did. They once told her if she was in any danger then she could always look to them for safety.

As grateful as she was, Lollipop just couldn't ask them to protect her violent history. She rather end the alliance now, and besides they're only dead weights dragging her to the bottom of the ocean. She decided that this will be her last visit to the only place she was freely welcomed.

She grabbed her bag and stuffed it into the bubble, absorbing it into itself, protecting it from any and all from outside of the bubble. Putting the red tube in her mouth, most of it sticking out of her mouth as she stepped further into the blue world that lay beneath the one she knew. The water raising higher and higher after each step she took. The water began at her ankles and soon raising up to her knees, soaking the thin fabric of her red and blue stockings. It was cool and chilling, giving her skin goose bumps once it made contact with one another. The city Villia, was located on the north side of the Nivade Ocean. It would take her a few minutes to get there if not close to an hour. The waters is much colder then she had originally thought. This planet, along with a few others she knew of, doesn't have a winter season. Heat constantly beat down on the surface, and occasionally warming its waters. Swimming was like an escape for her. The smooth water rushing past her as she gazed upon the dark and lurky depths of the ocean floor. Fish zipping past her for their dear lives, afraid that they'll have the next watery grave. Lollipop pushed the thoughts away from her mind as she continued through the midnight sea, soon approaching the entrance.

With their doors automatically opening for her, embracing a friendly face. Little did any of them know what she was truly capable of. Lollipop on the outside looked like a rebel type of girl, in certain terms that was indeed true but that's only a side note; She was a rebel to a degree. It's just like a wise man once told her, no one can ever understand your story, let alone your point of view or how you feel about things. Now that was something she could agree on, too bad most people choose to ignore that, even she herself has tried to do the same thing and it would always fail her miserably. A lesson that she refused to learn until she finally learnt its true meaning. A day she has yet to look back on for answers.

Floating into the small space where the water will drain and air can flow through her lungs properly like they should. Beneath her feet was a giant fan that they turn on to dry off their visitors, if they would take the same route she did. After she was fully dried off, Lollipop popped the bubble that carried and protected the bag. Finally stepping through the second pair of doors she was greeted by four guards that will escort her to the mayor.

Not long after she arrived they immediately left, making their way through the city. It was indeed a wondrous place to see. The builds were similar to Earth's but with their own uniqueness to them. Because the city is located underwater they don't have cars or anything that requires oil type fuel. It's a 'walking city', just like Paris, France, Lollipop thought. What made it even more so lovely was the lights. Some were soft and dull while others were bright and colorful. Especially at their festival, the nightly year. It is a celebration with lights. All the power goes out on this night alone, seeing as the sun wouldn't reach this far down and everything would be pitch black. All the buildings and any other object with a distinct shape would be outlined with lights that are automatically programmed to turn on, on this night only. That's only to help the people tell where they're going. They also have outfits fit for every woman, man, and child, also with the programmed lights. Once the clock strikes twelve, the party begins, and all the streets are lined up with booths and rides, and the public gives out free dance shows. Lollipop couldn't deceiver which she liked most of all about it. The dances, or the rides, better yet the clothing had to be one of the top three. It's a shame that she won't be there for the next one to come around the river bin. It was one of the most exciting things she's seen since her-Since she could see other worlds.

Down another corridor and through glass doors, there sat the one person she needs to speak with. The water being was quietly sipping her drink while completing some paper work.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Lollipop."

"Likewise." her voice low, "We need to talk."

Twenty minutes is what it took until they reached the front entrance of the city. Large metal doors were extended further from the building with a small walkway made of glass that was connecting the front doors to the actual entrance. There was only one way in and many to get out. Slippy ran that piece of information by Wolf through the com-links. Wonderful, Wolf thought. That means they'll not only have to split up longer then expected but it also means they'll have to search the city before they take their leave. That was only because she could easily shroud herself within the community and have a head start on her escape. It's making it a bit more difficult to find her.

"Isn't it a bit funny that as soon as we started this mission that someone has already spotted her?" Panther questioned aloud.

"Beginners luck I suppose." Wolf responded. "Just think about it. She's wanted by intergalactic police force. She should be universally famous by now if she's been wanted for a few years now."

Wolf had to keep reminding himself that this is only the beginning, and that there's still a lot that they don't know about her that they could possibly use to their advantage. As far as any of them know, she was as dangerous as the next most wanted criminal on the list. But since the three themselves were in fact convicts, in terms would make this whole cat and mouse game a little easier then they realize. Wolf, Leon, and Panther all know how to predict their opponents moves, thus why they were excellent at dog fighting. Because they would know what her next move would be would help them out. The only trouble they would have is actually keeping her on lock down.

 _We should be deep enough for them not hear us through the coms._ Wolf thought to himself. He pressed the com link in his ear and heard nothing but static coming from it.

"So what's the plan boss?" Asked Leon.

"Simple. Each of us will take a different route after speaking with the city mayor. There will be guards following us around so before we get there I need Leon to use his ability. That way you can slip past all of us and explore on your own. Just report what you manage to find." Wolf explained.

"Can do."

"That's it?" Panther asked

"Pretty much" said Wolf "There really isn't a whole lot we can do since we're under authority." He had a point. Since they don't make the rules this time round they have to go by what Fox says. If they don't they can be easily thrown in prison or executed for their crimes. Every time he thought about the executioners axe coming down, it sent shivers down his spine.

"After meeting with the mayor we'll have to search the city in hope that she hasn't slipped through any of the emergency exits." Panther said.

"That's why you want me to use my ability?" Leon questioned Wolf.

"Yeah. Speaking of which, use it now."

Leon being a chameleon, changed into the background, or rather invisible. With his specially designed suit, Leon can fully disappear. The suit itself is thinly wired with electochrome wires. These specially designed wires are built for the user specifically. They can be installed into anything and used with a single drop of blood from the user, thus it will only activate when the user wears or uses whatever the wires were built into. In their team Leon does a lot of the sneaky work by doing so, such as taking out the guards that either guard the front entrance or their target at hand.

The doors open and the bubble shrank, fitting into the small space. The water drained out and the bubble retracted itself back into a small oval. Panther set the object in his pack that was connected to his suit and sat upon his back. Wolf and Panther stepped through the entrance and were greeted by eight guards.

"We're here to speak with your mayor immediately." Wolf held up a security pass, given to him by General Peppers to allow them into the city. The guards both recognized the symbol and escorted the two to the main building where they will meet with their mayor.

Leon saw his chance to slip away and took it. While they were talking with their leader, he on the other hand, was going to go sight seeing. He was certain that there was something he could find, if he looked long and hard enough. And he was certain that Lollipop was bound to be here somewhere. If she was still stuck here she'll be smart enough to hide. Walking down the street where quite a few people where walking every which way to get to where they were going. It wasn't so crowded but it would make it slightly difficult to get around without bumping into someone. Leon was a smart cookie therefore he knew there was a back door for getting to one place to another with ease; There had to be allies and back streets in this city because most cities usually do. He walked a little further before he came across one and slipped in, almost knocking a plant over in the process.

The back streets were rather thin then he'd like but it was worth it. He had enough room to touch both walls with his elbows. He made his way down the ally when something moved out of the corner of his eye. Slowly coming to a stop. Leon paused at a corner. Though he was invisible he had a feeling that they'd feel his eyes on them and flee. Better safe then sorry he always thought. He peeked around the corner and saw the one person they suspected.

"Lollipop you say?"

"Yes. She's under the galaxies most wanted list, she has been for years now." Wolf said. Natalia couldn't believe her gills. Lollipop, a trusted partner and a wonderful role model for their up coming generation. How could this have been? All the times she had been so friendly, that she helped, that she practically inspired most of their children in the city, even the poorest ones. How could she hide this from them? This must be the reason why she said she could no longer stay and that it would be for the best that she leave and never come back.

"She was such a great person..." Natalia said. Regret echoing in her voice as she spoke.

"If I may be crucially honest with you ma'am," Panther spoke next, "Lollipop was more then likely acting as a friend towards you rather then blowing her cover. She needed your protection from us because she knew you all were pacifists. Even years later, she is still as dangerous as before."

These words are not the ones she wishes to hear. Lollipop had proven to her many times that she possessed goodness in her heart. Why would she throw their alliance out the window?

"Though I do not wish to believe your words, I can not deny your accusations against her with the evidence that you have presented to me."

The images of towers blowing up, people killed, and Lollipop fleeing the scene. Things that she wished they hadn't showed her. Their elders predicted this day would come though they did not make it clear as to when. But what didn't make sense was as to why this had to happen the way it happened. There was nothing else she could say or do to defend Lollipop anymore, at least not with the heart wrenching evidence they've shown her. She has yet to believe what her eyes have shown her.

"Sometimes things are not as they appear. Some things are. It is your choice, your judgment that will tell you in the end whether or not you can see the world through clear glass or through a fogged mirror." Natalia spoke softly It was almost as if she was talking to herself rather then to the two in front of her.

"What does that mean?" Panther asked. Panther wasn't much for speeches and all just like anyone else. That is if he was in a different circumstance. Every thing that the person they are speaking is up most important, no matter how little the detail may seem at the time. Panther, as well as everyone scheduled onto this case was told that every bit of information must be recorded in a orderly fashion in the most specific categories they can come up with. That meant who was ordered by whom, why, what was their assignment, and so on and so forth. Natalia looked over to the two males as if they had just appeared there. The spaced out look in her eyes told Panther that Lollipop was more then an acquaintance or a comrade, but more as a friend. _We might have to keep a closer eye on her for now on.._

"It means that you can only see the world in two lights. One is where you see on the surface, what they appear to be. The second is what truly lies beneath. An Earthling once told me, never judge a book by its cover and that's including people as well as places. You may never know what they have been through or why... though you can always be there for them and try to understand why."

"Natalia," Wolf said. They were being pressed for time. Every minute counts until they have Lollipop under guard. "I hate to put a rush on things but we're running a tight schedule."

"I understand. Do whatever you feel is necessary. Please leave once you are finish, I do not wish to worry my people."

"Understood ma'am. We'll try to press along smoothly as we can. Please keep in touch with General Peppers if there's anything you feel you need to say." Natalia nodded her head. Not once did she look them in the eye though it was too easy to tell that she was deep in disbelief.

Panther and Wolf exited the room, walking briskly down the hall. Its lights shinning above their heads as they past under each light. Everything within the city is hydropower based engine. From the lights, to making clothing or kids toys. Most of the city was covered in walkways. They didn't see the need for singular vehicles. There are buses and boats that traveled through the canals and under arched bridges. It was indeed one of the loveliest of sights that Wolf had laid his eye on in a long time, and it was most certainly worth it. While walking out passed many small shops and outdoor markets, they walked across one of thousands bridges that scoured the city. Nodding in one direction, signaling for Panther that he should go that one as he headed the other way. At the end of it they split ways. Panther heading one way and Wolf heading the opposite while two guards followed both men.

An hour had already passed since Leon headed in his own direction. He slipped into a back ally and had found something that had caught his interest. He followed whoever it was to a larger back ally. He heard them scrimmaging through the trash that was set neatly to the sides of the allies. Finally he peeked around the corner and saw Lollipop digging through garbage. Finally, Leon thought. He quickly slipped out his camera that was built into his black glove and recorded her for a few seconds before snapping pictures of her picking up random things such as an empty box and a few cans. He sent them to Wolf after she had stood up, placing her hands upon her hips.

Studying her behavior, he could tell that she was looking for something but was confused as to why it wasn't there anymore. Lollipop seemed to have given up on what it was that she was looking for and began to walk away in the opposite direction from where Leon was hiding at. He crept down the ally, just ten feet away from her, to make sure he wouldn't loose sight of her. Hopefully Wolf and Panther will be here soon to back him up if he should get into a brawl with her. She wasn't looking in any of the other trash laying against the walls of the abandoned ally way. Lollipop was steadily walking a smooth pace, not looking back once. She swiftly turned a corner and Leon quietly ran up to the corner, making sure that he didn't make a sound. But when he looked around the corner, he saw that it was a dead end. She knew, she knew! He repeatedly yelled inside his head.

Suddenly Leon felt a pair of hands grasp his shoulders and was thrown back a bit. Lollipop jumped over him and landed right next to the corner. Her eyes narrowed, almost in a squinting fashion, as if a light was shinning too brightly for her to see two feet in front of her. He knew he was busted so there was no use in acting like she didn't already figure out that someone was following her.

"I'm not stupid." she said. "I can see the outline of your body against the wall."

Lollipop sounded entirely different from what he was expecting. It didn't matter right now; what mattered right now was standing his ground and make sure not to loose her. Leon switched the invisibility off and showed her who she was facing this time round. His green scales being the first thing she saw before noticing the color of his suit. A burgundy red and black upon a steel. Those colors were very familiar to her. At first she couldn't place it as to where she'd seen those specific colors before. She thought for a moment, running her eyes up and down Leon as if he were delicious treats just waiting to be gobbled up by children. They look was making him uncomfortable but brushed it away as soon as she opened her mouth to speak again.

"Little Leon..hehehe. Thought you were just a lap dog." She said.

"Lap dog? Heh you're funny toots. Now how about we just stroll along back to the ship and spend the rest of your days back in your cozy cell, sound nice right?" Lollipop wasn't the only one who could throw back what's been dished out.

"As nice as that does sound right about now because I could really go for a nap right now," she rolled her eyes as she spoke those words. "but it's the part that I have to stay there until I die that turns me off ya' see?"

Just like any other criminal, she wasn't heading back just to be locked away again. Now that she has her freedom for the past eight years, Lollipop was not going to give that up so soon. Sure life for her wasn't luxurious but she could say that she was alive and well. Well crazy and alive. She knew all the tricks they could possibly pull to coax her into giving up. Being put in prison was one thing but an asylum was a completely different subject all on its own. Her wicked smiled stayed plastered on her face as she stated her comment. Not only did she know who she was going to face but how they were going to go about it as well.

As soon as she knew, she made plans. She thought of everything each of the individuals would do to trick her and came up with counter attacks to each one. Krystal, Wolf, Fox and Peppy all thought logically when it was one on one combat fighting, and that both included and not include weapons. Falco thought on instinct if not his emotions. Panther was more likely to wait out until he saw a chance to pounce like the predator he was. Slippy was a behind the scenes kind of guy so she didn't have to worry about him too much. Then there was Leon. Now he would be the one to keep her on her toes. He was quick to move as well as comment a smart remark. He thought logically with bit of a temper but could also stay ahead of his opponent by one step.

"I'm not entirely sure I should be worried about you?" Lollipop said. She seemed to be thinking aloud her thought, as if she was speaking to herself rather then talking to him. "You don't look all that smart or strong..."

"That's what you think." Leon said. Taking his chance he launched at her, taking his small dagger out and swinging it at her. Luckily for her she dodged his attack.

They then begun to dance around the ally. Leon throwing punches and kicks or using one of his little tricks to try to trip her up. Most of which didn't work as planned. He swung at her again and again until he was able to land a blow. It wasn't that he planned to actually stab her but to try her. For every good assassin needs some sort of poison, no matter what it may be. For Leon, that meant making his opponent think that they should be worried about the blade itself rather then what could be on it. He had Lollipop cornered against the wall. He carefully watched her footing, to give him any hints as to where she planned to swing next. There was a few feet between Lollipop and the metallic grey-blue wall. With her feet spread apart and planted firmly on the ground, she too watched his movements to anticipate what he might do next.

There were only a few people in the universe such as Wolf, Lollipop and Leon that would think a step or two ahead of themselves. One example would be the situation that their in now. Lollipop guessed each attack that he could pull and plans each counter attack just to secure her escape. She could remember plenty of times where that old cat would chase her until she manage to block his way. The look of anger and death written across his face as he had to watch her slide away in the pouring rain. The memory brought a smirk to her face.

"What are you smiling about now?" Leon snarled

"Oh nothing, sweetie. I'm just wondering what you're planning." she stated. "After all you do have me in a tight place right now. It's either escape or die trying." The smile didn't waver as she giggled like a six year old little girl.

Her voice did actually throw him off. Never had he heard someone sound like her but that was besides the point. Her voice didn't have anything to do with her capabilities. Quickly he lunged at her, flipping his knife properly as he brought it around. In mere seconds she did a standing back flip, her long blonde hair spiraling along with her, hovering just a few inches off her back. Crossing her arms to protect her face, yet she still felt something scratch her shoulder. Hissing as she felt the chilly fresh air prick at the small opened cut. Once her feet made contact with the wall, she pushed off it and towards Leon whom she tackled down. She stretched out her right arm, throwing a punch. The muscles in her arm were constricting as her knuckles made contact with Leon's nose. The punch threw him back a step or two, his nose leaking blood from one nostril.

"Not bad toots." Leon wiped the blood off his face.

"You're too sweet." She placed her hands on her hips.

The second she closed her eyes in a form of mockery, Leon swung his leg around to kick her. The whole of his foot made contact with her side, sending her dragging against the concrete ground.

"...But you still need work." Leon stated in a mocking fashion.

Lollipop glared at him for a moment. A moment too long. Something was off and she couldn't place why things didn't seem right. From what she could gather in this point in time was that there is a lizard man after her, and she could tell he meant business. She also knew he was apart of the StarWolf team. A mercenary team she's came across many a time within the past few years alone. So what was he doing here, chasing after her, by himself?

Her side began to hurt, bringing her train of thought to a halt. Whether it was forming the bruise or dying down from the impact didn't matter to her. She pushed herself from the ground, slouching her shoulders as she stood up, letting her arms dangle in front of her. She begun to laugh aloud.

"You think I'm an idiot? Hehehe well you're most definitely cocky, I'll give you that. I know that there's poison on that little toy of yours."

She bit her should where the cut was and spit out the toxin that was trying to gather and fall into the open wound. She looked back up to him. Her green eyes loosing all the reality within them. As she slid near the wall, a pipe rolled in front of her. Lollipop dug the toe of her boot under the piece of metal and kicked it straight up where she snatched it from mid air.

"Besides. Your little teammate haven't shown up this whole time. Who's to say that won't miss ya' ?" She quickly ran towards Leon with the pipe swung across her shoulder ready to swing at her target.

As soon as she was about to swing electric bullets flew at her from down the ally. She looked to her right and saw four city guards and Leon's two teammates running down the path, Wolf and Panther shooting their guns. Their lock range was aimed at her. Blue bullets flying past her. She could feel the heat from each one skim past her at a close pace. No! No! No! Lollipop screamed in her head. This was not happening, she thought to herself. It couldn't be. She had spent the last eight years running from their form of law enforcement and this was how she was going to be taken down? She wasn't ready. A bullet grazed her skin and she hissed, groaning from the pain. But it was the good type of pain. A sensation that made her feel alive, as if she hadn't died just yet. And it made her feel good. A smile grazed wider across her face then it had been the past few minutes.

"Took them long enough." Leon retorted to himself.

"Hands up!" Wolf yelled. Both him and Panther pointing their guns at her as if that would make her stay in place.

That was when she began to laugh.

"Make. Me." The look of death in her eyes. Testing her limits was a usual thing that she always did. Today, in this exact moment, was no different then any of the times before this.

Lollipop had grasped her side where the bullet burned past her. It stung badly and will leave a second to third degree burn mark. With both her arms crossed over her stomach, she easily grabbed a smoke bomb from what appeared to be as if out of nowhere.

General Pepper had warned them that she did have small weapons on her. Most in which were used for distractions or a way to escape. Being a smart lad that Wolf was, expected that she would pull something like that once he and Panther arrived at the scene. Wolf snatched a light bomb from his belt to throw when she threw her bomb. At the same time they down their bombs, both making a small explosion. The light from his bomb casted shadows through her smoke bomb, giving him a way to follow and take her down.

She quickly tripped Leon at his feet by crouching down low and doing a pencil turn as she went down. Swinging her foot around until they hit the back of Leon's ankles, causing him to loose his balance. Once she heard him hit the ground with a thud she got up and ran away from them in the opposite direction. Unlucky for Lollipop was that Wolf saw her running away and chased after her. She may be a rather scrawny woman but she wasn't very fast. Wolf chased her all the way down the ally, hoping that Panther went around to cut her off. He caught up to Lollipop. He could faintly hear her heavy breathing over his. She wasn't very fast for someone who's been on the run for a while now. An opening was up ahead. A canal and she was heading straight for it. Wolf pushed himself a little harder, catching up to Lollipop even more and as he came to be right on top of her, he jumped. He knocked both of them into the canal, his amor bringing him down from its weight. The cool yet slightly warm water washed over her burn and cut marks. The rushing water felt amazing as it suffocated her and the new wounds that were now marked in her body. The feeling of relief never ceased to sooth her physically or mentally.

Diving under water was like experiencing a world knew world back when she was a child. Reality came back and she remembered that she was fighting to escape capture. She immediately kicked Wolf in his stomach, causing him to release his grip on her shoulder. Lollipop kicked him in the shoulder in order to push herself away from him. She swam a few feet away before grabbing onto her bubble. She wasn't the best swimmer, nor the worst but she knew she could find a way out of this. Wolf composed himself and swam after her. His armor making it harder for him to keep up and it eventually ran out of air. Gasping the second he burst out of the water. Huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breathe.

"Didn't get her did you?" Panther asked as he held out his hand to help Wolf back up on firm ground.

"Sadly no." he said "She took a good shot at me and slipped away."

Wolf looked over to Leon who was coming up the way. A smile plastered his face as he calmly paced himself down the walk.

"What are you smirking about?" Wolf asked irritated that their target had not only fled the scene but had also disappeared without a trace. It was obvious that she hadn't came up for air thus concluding she took an underwater route and resurface later when the coast was clear.

"As bad as it is that she got away, you should be happy that I stalled her for as long as I did because not only did I get some of her blood but I also got some of those lovely locks of hers." Leon held up his dagger in one hand and three large clippings of Lollipop's hair in the other. A sinister smile spread across Wolf's face.

"We got this in the bag." Wolf said as the three decided to take their leave. Leon camouflaging himself once more, followed his leader and teammate to the front gate where their ride will be waiting for them. The bubble closed around them once more and made way to the surface where they would be propelled through the sky and back onto the ship.

Coming out of the city herself, Lollipop watched as the team head back to the surface. It was a close call this time but next time it won't be. Newly added hunters changes the rules, She thought to herself. Lollipop was one to do whatever it is necessary to win, this was no different. Swimming along the rocks, Lollipop will climb out and dry off before leaving. She'll need to figure a few more things out before long. The time was coming and it was coming faster then she had been expecting. That didn't entirely bother her, though she still needed to make sure that nothing and nobody got in her way of showing them that she had been right. And they'll die for it if they don't see it her way.


	7. Surprise!

It was another day for the crew to begin their investigation again. Rolling over the facts and samples they already had and making connections between things. Such as her purpose for breaking into the FireStrike head quarters and leave empty handed. Fox had watched a few camera feeds that General Pepper had recommended to him to see if he could come up with anything that they hadn't already. Every camera she came into contact with she either flipped it off with her middle finger then broke it, or smile at the camera before entering the building only to come back out empty handed, and looking at the camera once more before she left. This "game" she was playing was a game that she makes the rules as she goes along. Commander Tompson repeatedly tells everyone that she is needed alive. Fox let that note hum for a minute or two before asking himself the question why? They have her DNA but they still need her? That specifically didn't make any sense. He made a mental note to ask one or the other as to why they still needed her.

The one thing she has done was proven herself real quick. After Lollipop had escaped the famous Wolf O'Donnell, which is something that rarely happens, Leon presented them with a couple strands of her DNA that they reported back to General Peppers and Commander Tompson. By time that the two leaders had known, the samples were sent to a private specialist to better examine the evidence. Wolf and Fox were currently speaking as the two went over her file from the asylum that Peppy and Slippy had retrieved. Fox was also waiting for General Peppers to show up some time soon.

"How long has it been now?" Wolf asked Fox.

"Three hours." Fox told him, glancing at the bottom of his screen for the time. Both have been going over facts and ideas they had in mind. Taking notes as they went over possibilities. While Wolf went over the printed out forms and back history of the establishment and whatever they had on Lollipop as a person, Fox went over the data that Slippy found most intriguing and thought that it was important enough for Fox to take a look at.

"What's your say?"

Wolf skimmed back through the paper to find a few things that Lollipop had done during her time at the asylum, nothing he read made him suspicious of her or the establishment and its staff, nor did it make him feel any sympathy for her.

"Nothing much besides her rejecting food after a few months. They had to force feed her every three months it says...uh..few fights with other patients and that she bit a couple of people that worked as staff members. What about you?"

"Similar things. That and she talked to herself a lot. Saying things like 'What about me?' and 'There's no way out.'" Fox quoted from the entry log. Wolf chuckled. It didn't seem funny at all to Fox. Fox looked over to Wolf, giving him a puzzling look.

"'There's no way out?'. More like she found plenty of ways out." He had a point. Peppy sent a blue print of the facility with highlighted escape routes that she could have very well taken to escape. "It's either that or a metaphorical term. I mean the girl did loose her mind, remember that."

"Yeah..." That was all Fox could say to the few statements that they shared between themselves. A thought or two passed by his train of thought. What if she never had a clear head on her shoulders in the first place? Or what if she's chasing, searching for her sanity? Fox threw those ideas out the window. They don't make sense even though he was the one to think of them, and yet he couldn't understand it either. Reading over s few more paragraphs and he thinks he found something worth it "...I think I found something that might be useful."

"What's that?"

"It says here in the registration commission that all patients are allowed to keep journals and, or, a sketch book." Fox said as he tried to search for further leads as where they would hold the books if the patients is either dead or checked out.

"A diary huh? A book holding personal thoughts and ideas that'll lead us to her goal. Not bad pup." His comments never cease to annoy Fox. Rolling his eyes for a moment before locking them onto the screen before him.

"It's a small award for working hard but it doesn't say where they put _her_ book, let alone anyone else's that are still living there. You can't expect them to keep the books with them, do you?" A rhetorical question. Fox scanned back over the text two more times, rereading each sentence slowly as to not miss anything he could have the first time, but ended up with nothing. "Nope. Nothing on where they're kept. Send Leon and Panther there to see if they can recover the book and any personal belongings of hers that might still be there."

"I'll go do that for you since I'm headed their way." Krystal spoke from behind the two. Neither man noticed the door opening and Krystal walking in, hearing the last piece of their conversation. She nearly gave both of them a heart attack. Fox's fur stood on end from the sudden voice and Wolf was as pale as a ghost.

"Would you knock next time lady." As usual Wolf was grouch, and she ignored his words as she turned her attention to Fox. Krystal couldn't help but to giggle at the two. Wolf isn't exactly an easy target no matter what you're trying to do but to startled Fox was something that was becoming a little too easy for her to do.

"Sorry. Slippy and I just got back from the store with a few things. We also got a few snacks for everyone to keep their energy up." Krystal set down the two bags in her hands atop of the table in front of her. "And here's a small jug of milk for both of you." She set one beside Wolf and handed one to Fox as he turned around in his chair. Their fingers brushing the others as the milk was handed to Fox.

"Thanks Krystal, you're the best." Fox said smiling at back at her as she smiled sweetly at him. Wolf groaned in annoyance as he rolled his eyes at the two oblivious love birds. With his nose in the sheets of papers in his hands he spoke.

"How 'bout you two just kiss and get it over with already. You're making me sick."

With a blush on both their faces they looked over to Wolf whom acted like he had said nothing wrong and continued to read the papers in front of him. Now that there was a fog of awkwardness in the room, Krystal found it to be a good time to go find Panther and Leon.

"I'll just go tell them you got an objective for them. Bye." Krystal was quick to leave the room. A quick good bye and she was off the lower deck where the others would be located.

"She left awful quick. Must have been something you said." Wolf was toying with Fox and they both knew that.

"Stop messing with me." all Fox received was a chuckle from the older dog. "You had to ruin the moment didn't you?"

"Please...Five minutes would have passed before it got awkward in here. So you're welcome."

"Anyway..." Silence fell between the two dogs. Three seconds later, Fox's thoughts were eating at him, begging him to say something on the matter, to receive answers of some sort.

"Is it that obvious?" He whined

"You have no idea.." Fox let his forehead hit his forearm on the table, groaning at the fact that he couldn't see how everyone else saw it so easily besides him. He felt blind to the matter.

A thought wondered its way into Wolf's head. Both him and Krystal were grown folk. Given that she had been trapped for a long while before the two had met and Fox being the one to rescue her from her imprisonment and it didn't seem like Fox would be the one to date. With that in mind, Wolf came to the conclusion that neither of them have dated before, let alone stay in a relationship. Wolf personally didn't care, at least not in a brotherly way like Slippy would or in a fatherly fashion like Peppy, but rather in a gossip type of out look.

"Haven't had a girlfriend before have you?" He asked.

"Shut up." Fox said. His voice muffled from him hiding his burning red face from the world around him. Once again, Wolf sat on the other side of the table chuckling at Fox's poor misfortune. Not long after that, once Fox found his nerve again, they continued reading on about Lollipop's paper work to see if there could be anything useful.

* * *

Down below deck, Leon and Panther were chatting with the General and the rest of the crew. Leon looked as if he had been laughing at something, or rather someone in this case. Slippy and Falco looked annoyed with the blunt lizard. Peppy and Panther on the other hand are more interested in what General Pepper's had to say than listen to those three bicker like children.

"General Pepper. Boys." Krystal greeted them.

"Ah, my dear Krystal. How nice of you to join us." Panther immediately grabbed hold of Krystal's hand, planning to plant a kiss atop of it. Krystal saw this and snatched her hand back. Her calm happy demeanor had changed to an annoyed expression in less then point two seconds.

"How many times do I have to remind you to _not_ touch me?"

"As many as you would like to repeat it my dear. For I love hearing that sweet voice of yours, even if you do save it for that pipsqueak of a boy, that you deem your leader." Panther smoothly rolled each word out of his mouth without mistake. One thing she didn't understand was why he always mentioned Fox in these situation? She quickly brushed the thought off and turned her attention to Peppy and General Peppers.

"I'm just here to tell Leon and Panther," she spoke Panther's name in annoyance before continuing on "that Wolf needs both of them to head back to the asylum to collect a few items for evidence."

"What could he possibly need as evidence from the asylum?" Peppy asked.

"It was actually Fox's orders." Krystal understands why they don't trust the StarWolf team. As many a time they've tried to kill them all in dogfights, that was just one thing they'll have to over look for now until they were all able to return to their regular routine. Though that was something that they'll eventually get over in due time. At least she hopes that they will. It was honestly a childish way to act for professionals, and that goes towards both teams. The more she looked at everyone on an outside note, she could proudly say that they were all more as a family then they let on. She could see Leon and Falco as the older mischievous brothers whom were always fighting with one another or causing trouble for others. Peppy was the grandpa because he always watched over them and made sure everything was as it should be, and occasionally gave his advice because he knew they could use it. Slippy and Fox are those set of brothers that have each others backs no matter what and that they always get along. Then there's Wolf. He's more like an uncle then anything because he doesn't fit here nor there, but yet he's always there. Finally, there's Krystal. She's a combination of things such as a sister towards most of the group, a mother to some, and a aunt the the others, mostly because she takes care of them like a mother should, plays along like a sister, and looks out like a aunt. Confusing is an understatement when it comes to them. All in all she was just glad to be apart of this little group.

"You don't say. Well, you two better hurry now." General Peppers said.

"Are you here to speak with Fox?" Krystal asked.

"That I am my girl. I need to speak with both leaders privately. Now if you would ever be so kind as to point the way milady."

"They're above deck, main control room."

"Thank you. I will see you all at a later time."

"I hope you don't mind if I tag along." Slippy said "I found something within a video feed that all three of you should see." In his hands was a clear case with a silver disk within it.

"Ah, good job. Hopefully it's something I haven't already seen. Come along now, I'm in a bit of a rush as it is." The two left down the hall towards the elevator that will take them to the top floor.

General Peppers was a swell guy that often cared a little too much for their own good. He's also the one giving them their jobs. It helps both parties out a great deal. The government with a specialty team that will get the job done and save a fortune at the same time, whilst the team can have a job and get paid for doing so. As she watched General Peppers walk away, Panther and Leon still hadn't left for the asylum.

"What are you two waiting for? You have a job to do." With anger replacing the sweet tone that she usually has, the two males quickly headed to their arwings to go complete their objective. "Men.." She sighed to herself. While those two were gone, there wasn't much the crew could do but await their next orders. Krystal will personally be making notes on some more private matters that relate to the mission. But first she'll send a text to let Fox know that they've left for their task.

* * *

"Well Krystal just sent me a text saying that your guys have left and that General Peppers is on his way up." Fox told Wolf.

"What does he want?"

"Dunno."

The doors to the control opened once more. Both Slippy and General Peppers stepped in. The general seemed a bit rushed in Fox's eyes.

"It's good to see you, my boy. How is the investigation going thus far?" He greeted Fox.

"Swell I suppose. I read the entry log to the asylum and it said that all patients have either a journal, or sketch book, or both. Since Lollipop was registered there, we're going to see if we can get her journal and read it to see if it'll give us any leads." Fox explained.

"Splendid!" Pepper's barked in excitement. "And good old Tompson thought you all wouldn't be anything but extra luggage to carry around. Show him didn't it."

"But that's all depending if there are any leads from her book or if she even has one, sir." Fox was right. Just because they handed her a book doesn't mean she wrote in it.

"Still. His men have been lacking off from the years long investigation on the case, so their eyes are worn and wary from examining the information so many times. So, a new set of eyes was in order. Besides you all are smarter then you appear to be. I put all my trust and faith into your team Fox. I expect nothing but the best from you." General Peppers spoke too highly of the StarFox crew much too often. Though, Fox does appreciate the boost in confidence but now he's just bragging. It made Fox feel a bit sad due to the fact that the general was bragging about him in front of Wolf, knowing that him and his team are well hated throughout their solar system.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Woop-de-do." Wolf sarcastically cheered. Naturally Wolf and his crew have a burning hatred for the StarFox team. Wolf's reasons are a bit more personal then the others but nonetheless he was always annoyed when hearing about Fox and his team and how they were so great. Fox only inherited the team because of his father, that Wolf knew. More times then not they get lucky that they get out with a few bruises. Especially back during the Aparoid invasion when Wolf helped Fox by staying back until the Queen Aparoid exploded, no thanks to him. It was one thing to give them a pat on the back but he was just rubbing it in his face now.

"Ah, I almost didn't see you there Wolf. Anything new you have to share?"

"No." Wolf's voice nearly cutting the general's sentence off short. Wolf figured that just because he was working for General Peppers and under the command of Fox, didn't mean he had to suck up to him like the others.

"That's what I thought." He sighed

"Well Wolf did get some information on her. It was technically his idea to head to the asylum in the first place. Without that bit of information then we would still be stuck at a dead end." Deciding that now would be a good time as ever to intervene, Fox did just that. He understood that Wolf couldn't care less what the general, or anyone else for that matter, thought about him. But then again, Fox was just stating the facts, which also happened to be the truth. If Fox had to be honest, he was glad that Wolf had a starting point otherwise they all would really but stuck in a loop right now. He owes Wolf for that.

"Ah, really now. That's interesting to hear." He said. Peppers' was a bit impressed with Wolf.

"Oh that reminded me. She's short." Wolf said, not once looking up to meet their gaze.

"What does that have anything to do with the mission? The only thing you can actually say to that is that it helps with her speed." Slippy said.

"That also reminded me of something else. She sucks at swimming."

"Okay...?" Fox wasn't entirely sure how to take that bit of information. But what he did do is type a side note on the split screen, quickly pressing the blue buttons on its keyboard that hovered in the middle of the air along with the screen.

"I take it you went into the water to chase after her, correct?" Asked Peppers.

"Yup." Wolf said, " Back to little toad over there. Yes it does give her speed. It also boost whatever speed she already possessed, which really isn't much, and add that to her flexibility and that equals a nasty combo. Thought you were suppose to be the smart one?"

"Would you knock it off with that comment." The sentence was beginning to bug the poor toad.

"It's okay Slippy. Just ignore him. If it makes you feel better, you're still the smartest guy on the ship." Fox said. Truth be told that it actually did make him feel better.

"Yes it does, thank you."

"No problem." Fox replied

"What do you want anyway, can't you two see that we're busy." Wolf asked.

"I'm here to let you know that the meet has been rescheduled to an earlier date. Everyone is to meet with the Inter-Galatic Council next Tuesday. They're demanding to know what's going to be done about this criminal."

"Well first off, you can stop calling her criminal unless you feel like that's necessary." Wolf said. He had already assumed that they had her name written down somewhere and just decided not to use it.

"What do you mean?" Pepper's asked

"You're telling me you don't know her name?" Wolf was taken back by this, looking up at him for the first time since they had walked into the room. The woman had been running from them for over five years and they still hadn't gotten her name. "It's Lollipop Tycoon. Now that may not be her birth name but it's all we got."

"Ah. Very good indeed Wolf. Keep this up and the bounty might be paid off earlier than you expect." He said, not meaning every word of what he said. Wolf on the other hand just slumps back into his seat and continues to read the paper work.

"Well besides what General Pepper's here for, I found something that took major computer skills to find." Slippy went over to the computer where Fox had been reading the entry log and popped in the disk, uploading the file. Thus he began to explain what he means. "I found something that was completely different from her usual routine of looking at the camera going in and looking at it when leaving. Now this was hidden indifferently into that one footage of that one camera that showed nothing but static. A secret bar code of some sort." The screen showed the static that Slippy had mentioned. "Now watch as I defrag this to break the code..." he then began jotting in a sequence of numbers, letters, and a symbol or two. This caught Wolf's attention, and he looked up at the screen as well. "..and there we go."

The screen went from a variety of grey static lines to a blank concrete wall. For the first couple of minutes nothing seemed to be happening when the camera jolted down a little bit and a figure jumped out from behind it. A slender figure with long hair and tail made their way over to the wall, pulling a small can out from the bag that they were carrying with them. The can much resembled a hairspray can. It was no doubt that this was Lollipop. Two bright lights shown brightly just twenty-three feet away from the other, giving enough light to see who was standing there. She looked over to the camera and began to shake the can. After shaking it a decent amount, Lollipop then began to vandalize the private property. Once she was finished she hurriedly ran from the wall, her ear flickering to the sound of boots stomping on the ground. It was easy to tell that she purposely left the can there, in a mocking manner or challenge. But what the wall said came no nothing less as a shock. "I know you're WATCHING me." Was what the first half said. The second part said "You DON'T know who I AM". Both parts having capitalized words mixed with regular ones.

The screen was captured and saved under " ". This might be useful later, Slippy thought to himself. He watched the video multiple times making sure he didn't miss a single detail. Once he realized that there was nothing else there he quickly downloaded it onto a disk just in case the feed was some how tampered by her and it would burn the data, erasing the evidence.

"That's it. Strange that she chose to say that, huh?" Slippy said.

"That's not good.." General Peppers said in a low voice, not meaning to speak so low.

"All that means is that she's aware of us. So what's bad about that?" Wolf piped in and asked.

" 'What's bad about that?' You say? It's bad because she is always one step ahead of us as it is. She's rubbing it in and mocking us, challenging us even. She wants us to play her little game." General Pepper's explained. Wolf may be a smart man, though sometimes he didn't look further in things like he should since it's his job.

"Then play we shall." He said nonchalantly. He wasn't a natural team player, and Wolf could care less if someone he worked with took the burn for whatever it was that they were doing. With his specific line of work he realized that he either had to push his way to the top or get shoved to the side. He learned that the hard way.

* * *

Panther and Leon left not long after Krystal told them their side objective. To make things quicker, they took a faster route to keep from waisting time. Besides the few traffic jams here and there it took them almost as twice as long to get back to the asylum then before. A little over two hours to get there and were greeted by the solider that secured the gate. Once they showed the officer had approved them, they parked their Arwings and headed back into the main building.

"What if she didn't write anything useful? Or better yet, what if she didn't write anything at all?" Leon questioned. They began walking up the trail that lead from the parking area to the front door.

"That will be answered as soon as we see what's in the book. For now our orders are to simply retrieve her belongings." Panther told Leon whom was walking next to him. Leon was looking all around himself and Panther, silently observing everything in sight.

"You sure do put a lot of faith into Wolf ya' know. Whose to say he's just sending us out to do things just so he can have all the glory in the end?" Leon said stuffing his hands in his pants pockets.

"That's coming from someone who should have no doubt in his leader. You've known Wolf a lot longer than I have yet you don't set all you faith in him. He's not the leader of StarWolf for nothing you know."

"I know that, but that's not what I'm saying. Look, the way I've always seen it is that it's always best to see the bad in people before seeing the good. Believe me, I've been screwed over by too many people to stray away from that motto. And it's not that I don't trust Wolf, well not entirely. Sure we've went through the war together but that's nothing when all we did was hide until the recruits came in to help."

"You're point being?" Panther asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"My point is that no matter what, the slightest things can change a person. Wolf is the type of guy to look out for himself rather then others." Leon grumbled. Even if it was true, all Leon could do is suck it up because he knew that he wouldn't last on his own out there.

"Last I recall, you two have been together during the war, after the war, and up until this very day. So that tells me he obviously cares for you like a younger sibling and I'm not so surprised that he hasn't gotten rid of you yet."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You can be very annoying, Leon."

The two walked up to the doors and entered the building. The cool air rushing past them as they made their way to the front desk. There they would seek out the information needed to obtain their goal.

"Excuse me sir?" Panther spoke clearly that way he could grab the employees attention. "I'm wondering if it was possible that we could collect an old patients journal and sketch book, along with anything else they might've had with them at the time?"

"Might I ask who you two are?" Edwin asked.

"I'm Panther Caroso and this is my teammate Leon Powalski. We are members of the StarWolf mercenary team. Like I said before, we're here to collect evidence. It's under the orders of General Peppers that we work with his chosen crew." Panther explained.

"Ah. Okay. Let me call the boss real quick to have permission." Edwin said as he picked up the phone and called Ms. Walker's office. After she approved of the formality, Edwin then called another room for someone to bring up the objects of interest. "Ms. Amadi will be right with you with her things."

"Thank you." Leon and Panther stepped away from the desk, awaiting for Ms. Amadi to show up. Leon still looked around the area as if someone was trying to kill him.

"You need to relax. You're stiff all the time, like someone is spying on you or something of the sort." Panther said

"Shut it." Leon snipped. "Besides, why do you trust Wolf so much? You said it yourself that you barely know him."

"As true as that may be, unlike all the other people I could only imagine that the two of you had to work with until I came along, I actually succeeded in proving myself as a reliable candidate." Panther was a very conceited person, always the one to hold himself high on a pedestal. He already had a intimidating face and aura around him, so his skill set only made him more deadly. He often finds it amusing to embarrass his teammates whenever he can. Just a little entertainment for himself.

"Whatever." Leon said, rolling his eyes.

A small lady came to the desk and Edwin pointed to Leon and Panther. She was a short elderly hedgehog. She could have very well be in her late eighties. Walking over to the two with a box in her hand, she politely spoke in a calming voice.

"Here you go sir. Hope this helps you out any." Ms. Amadi said. before she could have shuffled away, Panther spoke up, causing her to pause and wait for his question.

"Do you think you could tell us anything about Lollipop? Her records said that you were one of her attendants."

The woman seemed quite and torn from the expression she gave off. Ms. Amadi didn't say anything right away. Opening and closing her mouth as if she knew what she was planning to say and at the same time she couldn't find the right words. Finally she decided that she should tell someone. Luckily for them that she's telling the right people. That's what she hoped at the very least.

"You seem nice. What I'm about to say may mean nothing though I do hope it will help you somewhat, if any. Though I would like to speak outside if you wouldn't mind" Her voice was stern, meaning business with a sweet side to show that she's harmless.

"That's quite alright ma'am." Panther gave Leon the box to hold as he opened the door to let her go through. They walked down the path a few more feet before she stopped and turned to them.

"You seem to be the right ones to tell." she started off. "She wasn't always like she is now...more times than not she was one of the sweetest little thing I had ever met during my time working here. She didn't like any of the other nurses besides me and a few others. Not sure why."

"She didn't harm you in any way? The file said she bit a few staff members." Leon asked.

"Well then they deserved it. Now I'm not trying to say she's a saint but she as Hell didn't deserve the treatment that they gave her, and that was back within the first few months when she first arrived." Ms. Amadi stated, her brow furrowing slightly in what seemed to be anger. Panther recorded the conversation in silence, sending the feed to Wolf as it recorded.

"Could you simplify that down for us on what you mean?" Panther asked.

"Her record should have told you why she bit people. It did say, didn't?" The old woman looked at Panther then to Leon, adjusting her glasses slightly. The silence and baffled expressions were all she needed to know that it didn't explain why. Sighing to herself she began to explain it herself. "I have no doubt that they purposely left that piece of information out to save their own keister's. They were always no good, even the headsman the ran this dump back then."

"This is starting to get a little confusing now." Leon complained

"Well let me start from the beginning, shall we."

"Please do miss."

"Well, back then she was a young sprite she was, still full of life even if she always looked depressed. A lovely little thing too. She was quite and rarely bothered anyone and always kept to herself. That's including if it was for her. A lot of times she didn't want to do anything and just stayed within her room. A few male nurses had to forcefully remove her from her room because it was required that she interact with other patients and get some fresh air. More times then not she would fight it and fight it until she stopped one day. She let them drag her out but she did not yet stop refusing to eat. After a few months of rejecting food she had to be forced fed." Her face grew solemn. "And that's when the beatings started..."

Leon and Panther looked at one another with shock. Beatings? Her report said nothing that was that physical. Force feeding was allowed but anything other then that was not allowed.

"Beatings...Why would they do that?" Panther asked aloud, not realizing that he was speaking aloud.

"because they could." she continued to explain. "Besides me, there was another four attendants to look after her...for safety reasons. It wasn't but another four months that she started to...mmm...change. She wrote even more things in her journal then normal. Scribbling things in it even."

"Have you read anything in it?" Leon smirked

"Actually I have." Leon's smirk instantly dropped. "It was only when I knew I could get a chance to read it in privacy. It's against the rules to read them. I remembered that she never mentioned anyone she knew by name. Though she did leave a lot of detail about whoever it was that she was talking about. But more down to the point that everything that she wrote sounded more like a memory or dream. Things that she wanted to get off her chest. She was even a excellent artist too. She often sketched this one little boy, he looks like a wolf but I wasn't too sure. Besides that, she would cradled a picture in her hands, never did she let anyone see what the picture was of."

"This should be most helpful Ms. Amadi. Our team graciously appreciate this very much. If we have anymore questions on the matter, would you be so kind as to answer them the best you can?" Panther pulled out a small card that had a single number written on it.

"Yes of course. You boys have a safe ride home, okay?"

"Yes ma'am" The two said in union.

"Wait..." Leon said. A questioned popped in his mind. Out of everything they had heard and discovered about Lollipop, there was one thing they didn't get yet. "You wouldn't happen to know what her actual name is, do you? I mean someone didn't really name their kid Lollipop."

"She refused to tell us nor could we make her. Over time we found a nickname for her and used it as her name. It was to at least identify her by a name."

"Lollipop? How could you find that as a name?" Leon highly doubted the old woman.

"Because I would always give her a lollipop if she behaved. So I decided to call her Lollipop and it eventually stuck to her and then everyone was calling her that." Amadi took her glasses off to clean them off with her apron that she wore above her nurses uniform. Setting the glasses back where they belong, she said her good byes and made her way back inside. As for Panther and Leon, they headed back to their Arwings and began their way back to the Great Fox. Leon spoke to Panther over the intercom.

"I hope this'll give us some sorta lead on her."

"I believe that this'll give us some sort of idea of who she use to be and maybe why she's the way she is now." Panther replied. He gave a sigh. "I'm a bit thrown off though."

"From what the old hag said? I'm not entirely sure we should trust her words. She is pretty old. There just might be a few loose screws in that noggin of hers ya' know."

"With age comes wisdom. And you can only get wisdom if you go through experience. And that can only happen by growing up you numbskull. Besides, doesn't Lollipop have a few screws loose herself and she's pretty young by the looks of it." Leon had to admit that Panther had a point there.

"Which reminded me. How old is she anyway?" Leon asked.

"One glance at her and you could tell she's old-"

"No, no. Not the hag. Lollipop." Leon corrected him

"Oh. Not sure on the exact age but that guy we got the information from said that she looked around twenty-two. But then again that's a rough estimate." Panther told him.

"Yeah..." Leon trailed off. He couldn't think of anything to say to keep the conversation going so the rest of the ride back was a silent one.

* * *

"Okay, we're back!" Leon barged into the command center with the box in hand and set it on the table, resting it in between Fox and Wolf.

"Sweet." Fox said. He looked into the small brown box and pulled out a few things. First was her journal. It was a small green book that had 'JOURNAL' printed in capitalized, bold white letters. He set it on the table as he picked up a few more items out. One was a photo of a family. They looked like they would have been happy if their faces were still on the photo. Setting it to the side he picked up a pink collar. It was worn and faded, the different shades of hearts were especially worn out, barely making them recognizable. After that he pulled out a black t-shirt that had a pink mustache on it with a giant digital 'M' behind it and a pair blue jean shorts along with a pair of sneakers of some sort that were red. Never had Fox seen shoes like that before. He merely brushed it off as something that was stylish back where she came from, where ever that was. And finally he pulled out a locket. Fox examined it and noticed that it was wielded shut. _We'll just have to pry it open later_.

"Clothes? A necklace? And a photo?" Panther said as he looked through the journal.

"Oh that's really helpful." Falco commented. Leon sighed to himself and looked over to Wolf whom was looking at the picture. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Wolf had seen that photo on the table and picked it up, looking over it. Even though the people's faces were scratched out, he could still see that they were human. The little one down further in front of the image was completely scratched out, leaving a black blotch to take the person's place. Strange, Wolf thought. A few questions ran through his mind while he stare at the picture such as why try to remove the people from the photo? What was she trying to hide? Wolf jotted the questions down to not forget them, saving them for a later time.

Yet the scenery felt so familiar, but at the same time it didn't. He's seen plenty of forest area on many different planets. But this narrowed it down ten-fold; A major clue in other words. The only place he knew that had humans was Earth. Then again that depends on when the photo was taken because humans have moved to other habitable planets to live their lives on. Wolf shook the idea from his head and set the picture back down. He heard what the jar-heads said and looked up to them.

"What did you expect them to do with her belongings when she was registered? Toss them out or something?" He stood up from his seat and stretched his arms out.

"Got a point there." Falco admitted.

"I'm just glad we have something that'll lead us further on, on the case." Peppy said as he leaned back into his seat.

Meanwhile, while everyone was making small talk about their findings, they failed to noticed Panther's ever changing expressions as he looked through the small green book. Once he picked it up from the table, he had to confess that he was indeed curious as to what she could have written in this little ideal object. As he flipped through the pages, most being blank, his appearance went from curiosity to worried-some after he flipped back through the book several times. He decided to speak up when he heard Peppy take a sigh of relief about finding this lead that should help them continue on.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Panther said with worry in his voice.

"What?" Wolf and Fox said simi in union.

"I mean that this may not be able to help us at all." Panther flipped the book around to show them all the empty pages as he flipped back through. They were all shocked at what was showed to them

"How? That-She couldn't have known we'd come after that?" Falco exclaimed with an indoor voice.

"Damn." Wolf said. "That's going to set us back a bit."

"You think.." Fox groaned. It's only been at least two weeks into the investigation and they're hounded every step of the way. Particularly Fox and Wolf. Them being both leaders, they were held to a higher responsibility then any other. If they screw up then they're in the dog house for sure.

"That's a lovely surprise." Peppy said sarcastically. It was indeed a surprise. One that they're going to have to deal with soon.


	8. New Plan?

Upon the discovery of Lollipop's journal being completely blank, the teams had to make their reports to General Peppers and Commander Tompson. Fox and Wolf are awaiting a call from the General and Commander to make their reports on their findings. It was approximately five minutes until the call.

"You know they're going to be furious that a few things have been set back." Fox said. He was talking to Wolf while preparing notes and other sorts of evidence to show proof of what they've done thus far.

"And? People like that Commander Tompson don't generally tell you when you've done a good job. All they really do is hound you about that's how you're suppose to do your job." Wolf's met plenty of high strung men in the army that were much like he described.

"You've met him?" This brought Fox's attention to Wolf. Fox hasn't met the Commander just yet and was a bit nervous about doing so since he was of a higher importance then he or Wolf were, maybe even General Peppers was.

"Not personally, no. Neither did I ever plan to until I joined this little scandal."

It doesn't entirely matter how long you've known someone to know when there's something bothering them or something that's just amiss. Fox and Wolf weren't on the best of terms but neither were they on the worst of terms, landing their "friendship" somewhere along the lines of acquaintances since Wolf didn't see Fox as a friend. Though Wolf does have a grudging respect for Fox.

"Oh." Fox replied. "You alright? You seem a little off." Foxed asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Too many late nights I suppose...When is he suppose to call anyway?" Wolf asked Fox, changing the topic. He didn't like too much attention. Right then an incoming call is appearing on their screens. Fox answered, and at the same time, trying to mentally prepare himself. It's not everyday that they get called in to do reports or a call in general. Fox stood with his heels together, one arm by his side and his shoulders squared as he solute for the general. Wolf had yet to get up from his seat when the General and Commander appeared in a holographic form. From the look on the Commanders face, he didn't seem too pleased. _'And we're off to a bad start'_ Fox thought to himself.

" _Good afternoon Fox. It's always good to see a friendly face, my boy._ " The General greeted. He was a lot chipper than the Commander. The tom cat just stood there staring at him as if he was trying to steal his soul with those beedy green eyes. Fox brought his arm down as he spoke.

"And to you two as well." Fox said. Pepper's noticed that Wolf was next to him and began to fret.

" _Where's O'Donnell? I specifically asked for-_ "

"I'm right here." Wolf interrupted as he walked next to Fox, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

" _Good_." Commander Tompson said in a low tone.

" _Gentlemen, I would like you to meet Commander Tompson. He is the one who has been working this case since its start. He'll tell you everything you need to know if you just ask.. Now if you don't mind, I wish I could stay to hear what you've manage to find but I have an important meeting with the ambassador of Talira, and she is not a very patient woman. General Peppers, over and out."_

The General signed out and left the three standing there in silence. Tompson looked between the two men in front of him, via screen, not saying a word. Wolf saw this as a chance to say something.

"There wasn't any-"

" _I don't want to hear a word from you O'Donnell._ " Tompson snapped.

"Figured you were going to be like that." Wolf commented. He wasn't stupid. Neither was Fox. They both knew that there was a strong chance that the Commander wasn't going to like him. Wolf on the other hand knew for a fact that he wasn't going to like him, not that he cared. He's heard a lot about Tompson and his little crew of fighters and there's no doubt in his mind that he has heard a lot about him too, especially after the stunt him and Leon pulled on them several years ago.

" _I'll make this clear because apparently you already know. I don't like you. I didn't want you working on this case and I certainly didn't want to meet you. But as we can see, none of that happened. The less I see of you, the better._ " he turned his attention towards Fox " _Now I assume you have something that's useful._ "

Fox nervously pulled up holographic versions of the items they had found. Tompson looked at the objects and examined them. There wasn't much to say nor look at and turned back to Fox, awaiting for an explanation.

"Just a few things that she had when she was registered at the asylum. The clothes aren't much of a help besides seeing what she liked to wear and o style of her home world. There's a locket, collar, and photograph that seemed to momentums from home. The image was scratched out, especially the person in front. Thus rendering the question as that there might be someone she's after or something she wants to keep a secret. The collar on the other hand is worn to the point where she should have thrown it out or give it to someone who wanted it. But she didn't which leads us to the idea that she considers it as a precious gift or something along those lines. And the locket is wielded shut, hiding whatever's in there..." Fox explained. He took a couples seconds before mentioning the journal. "Then there's her journal. Her sketch book wasn't retrieved to our misfortune."

" _As much as these little trinkets are interesting in a way and will give us some ideas and minor leads. Finding her journal is most intriguing indeed._ "

Tompson seemed to be impressed with what they've presented. It was too bad that none of it was going to help too much. Wolf spoke before Fox could and ruined Tompson's happy moment.

"Too bad it's blank." Not a hint of nervousness nor sympathy was found in his tone. Fox may work for his people and the military, he still couldn't get over the little things that aren't so normal for regular people.

" _Of course._ " He's not mad? Fox wondered. " _Things like this tend to happen more times then not, whether we like it or not. I should've known that it wasn't that simple. My only question is how she could have known not to write anything?"_

"That's what we were asking ourselves sir. We're working on a answer now." Fox said.

" _Right. I take it that's all for now. Besides that I need you all to go to the planet of Shinu. The people there are concerned about their families and have seen multiple sightings of her over there. She may not be on that particular planet still but could possibly still be in the area. A fax report will be sent your way about the details and description of what the eye witnesses have seen and the evidence my team has collected._ "

"Oh goodie." Wolf said sarcastically.

"Right. We're on it. We're actually near the planet as is." Fox stated.

" _Mmm. One more thing. The meeting that the General has told you about has been moved to next week on Thursday at sixteen-hundred sharp. The council is itching to hear what we have so far. Tompson, over and out._ "

Fox was a little put off. He expected Tompson to be furious about the set back, yet he wasn't. Wolf went back over to the table where her belongings were at, left within the brown box they came in. While Fox was a little stunned on how the report went, Wolf's mind was still set on the objects that were once this crazy lady things.

"You still seem a little off Wolf. What's the matter? And don't say it's because of Commander Tompson."

"Nah, I wouldn't let that old flea bag have the satisfaction of knowing that he's getting under my skin." Wolf picked up the pink collar and looked at it. "I was just thinking about Lollipop and who was she before all this. I mean there had to have been a time before all this where she was a normal, sane person. Right?"

It was obvious that these little things meant something to her, especially the collar and necklace. _'But why would she leave it behind?'_ Wolf thought.

"You think that it's some kind of importance to her?" Fox asked

"Yeah, but then again it could have been something that she was wearing just like her necklace there." He slowly set down the collar. There was something oddly familiar about it and couldn't place where he'd seen it before. Wolf sighed to himself and set it back into the box. Old memories that he can't remember have been stirring up quite recently. Each time he shook them away, not wanting to deal with the numbing pain of not being able to change the past.

"As for Lolly, I can only imagine that she was just another normal girl. But something had to make her snap if that's the case. It's not though. Let's just stick to what we do know." Fox said turning his attention to the calender in front of him.

"And tell me what we _do_ know Fox. What's one thing we know for certain about her without a shadow of a doubt?" Wolf was growing irritated by the day with this case. Sure it wasn't any joy ride. It was a job. Once he didn't have a choice whether or not to accept. In that moment the rest of both their crews came in, hearing their conversation as they came in.

"Well we know for a fact that she's a girl and that she's nuts." Falco stated. The tall blue bird walked past Fox from behind to go to the few steps to get to his chair.

"Besides that you smart ass." Wolf growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What about the Commander that you two were supposed to talk to? Didn't he explain anything to you?" Krystal asked. Wolf leaned back against the table, holding himself up with the back of his waist as he crossed one leg over the other. They awaited Fox to explain but Panther beat him to it.

"Well Commander doesn't typically like us. I know for a fact that he hates Wolf."

"Why?" She asked

"I'm not sure about the little details but from what I've been told by Leon is that they had a run in with him once before and it didn't end well with the Commander." He explained.

"Hates a strong word there, Panther." Leon snickered.

"Not really. He did almost kill me." Wolf said. All but Leon looked over to Wolf. It wasn't that they were surprised at what he said, no. It made sense why he would try to kill Wolf. There was a large bounty on his head, he's wanted for various of crimes, most wanted being for murder and most importantly it would put a dent in the military's finances for paying whomever could turn him in.

"Tch' yeah. I remember when we pulled that money stunt. The look on their faces was the best thing I'd ever seen." Leon started to bark a laugh at the memory.

"Oh?" Falco questioned.

"Yeah, that's right." everyone besides Wolf turned to Peppy. "I read it in the paper. Fox was in just the beginning his teenage years at the time. Don't ya' remember reading it with me Fox?" Peppy asked him. He could tell he embarrassed him a little because of the tint of pink brushed against his orange coated cheeks. Peppy just smiled and chuckled. He didn't mean to embarrass him in front of his idol. Wolf may be on the wrong side of the law but he was and still is an excellent pilot and Fox had always had a feeling that even though Wolf acted as this tough coconut on the outside, that he had to be good somewhere in that shell of his. That is one reason why he felt embarrassed. The other was that Krystal was here too. No matter who that person is or how old they are, being the one talked about how they were when they were younger is always embarrassing, especially if it's in front of someone you like.

"I think so.." Fox was walking on thin ice for his own good so he had to make sure he chose the right words for now. "You were turned in by a lizard guy. Brought you in all beat up, bruises everywhere and some blood too. But it never said who it was that caught...you..." It pieced together perfectly. Leon being a lizard and working with Wolf. Though didn't they know Leon back then too?

"Little confused I see." Leon said.

"Didn't they know you back then too?" Fox asked.

"Nope. Wolf kept me hidden from the publics eye majority of the time when we first started in this business. It wasn't until I busted him out that they labeled me as his teammate so it wasn't any good to keep hiding."

"Oh." It made perfect sense now. _'Wolf must really trust Leon that much if he did such an extreme stunt like that'_ Fox thought.

"So what now?" Slippy asked.

"Commander Tompson didn't really explain anything and we didn't get the chance to ask him anything either. He left in a hast. But he did say that his squadron would usually find something and it turn out to be useless. That's something to look forward to." Fox said as he put away the papers.

"Don't forget to set a course to Talira." Wolf reminded Fox. NUS immediately set the course.

"The Xever galaxy?" Krystal questioned.

The Xever galaxy was known for its more "worldly-connected" type of people. Most of the planets consisted of little or no technology. Perfect place for hiding and even more so for slipping away undetected. Krystal and Slippy knew of a few planets that still spoke in their native tongue and often performed their accent rituals. One planet in particular was named Mullark. They were a dominate race of wild best ranging from cats and dogs to rats and birds. They tend to stick with their own kind and will chase off anyone that they don't wish to be on their home world.

"That's pretty far from Arnia alright." Slippy said as he pulled up a map, typing in the destination and last known location. It was whole other galaxy away from the previous one they were in.

"We need to spread out and search each planet. How many are there anyway?" Fox asked. Slippy zoomed in on the galaxy. The map showed twelve small planets.

"Damn" Leon and Falco said in union.

"They're just as big as a moon." Peppy said. Peppy began counting everyone in the room, minus NUS. "Let's see...five, six, seven...We only have eight people Fox and that's not including NUS."

"That's fine." Wolf said. He had a piece of paper in his hands. Walking over to Fox, handing him the sheet. "There's more where that came from."

The sheet simply told them that Tompson had two planets under control. Since they were working with him and his team of specialist, he saw no need to worry about the other eight. He was lucky that they were assigned to the area by him because he could use the extra help without needing to send an eighth of his men over there just for surveillance.

"Those must be the details of the witnesses then..." Fox saw the stack of papers in Wolf's hands. Setting it down he grabbed the top sheet. He read aloud. "The man claims to have seen Lollipop hopping from one planet to the next as he and his family were passing through the small galaxy. She jumped on top of their vehicle to escape the law enforcement that was tailing her, causing a collision to happen." He set the paper down as Wolf read another out loud.

"This one says that she had used this couples child as a shield and hostage against them and abandoning the child a few hundred yards away from them after they lost sight of her. The kid was bribed with money if he stayed in the spot she left him at. Officials bribed the boy again and discovered that she had left the planet by time the found him." He stopped reading the paper and looked up. "She's spending a little too much time around that area."

"Perhaps she's waiting for someone?" Panther chimed in.

Fox pulled up the notes that both them and Tompson had taken. He searched through the files on anything about her working with someone and nothing had appeared. The words "Partner" or "Alliance" hadn't even showed up as a relevance to the search either.

"That might be a possibility. None of the notes say anything about a partner. All we can say about that is that there is a fifty percent chance that she is working with someone and a fifty percent chance that she isn't working with someone. That's something we all need to keep in mind when we go up against her." Fox exited out of the notes and went to his seat. "We should be there before too long. Do what you need to do to get ready."

"Remember the whole part where they can't be on their own?" Falco said. "Yeah, so what's going on there?"

"Simple. We go in pairs for just the three. It'll cut down the amount of the people that could be searching a whole miniature planet on their own but that's just something we'll have to deal with." Fox pressed a few buttons to pull up the notes again to review them some more. A sly smirk made its way across Fox's face as he spoke up again. "Since Falco was so kind to remind me of that, he'll be paired with Leon. Wolf is with me and Panther is with Slippy."

"What!" Falco and Slippy yelled in union.

"I don't mind helping out in the field Fox, I really don't...but uh couldn't Krystal go with Panther instead?"

"What?" Krystal squeaked from her seat.

"I find it funny that you picked the complete opposites to work with one another." Peppy said, referencing to the four crew members. Though he knew Fox always has a strategy. He was right to assume so too. Wolf chuckled to himself. He hadn't said much of anything since the rest of their crews walked in. Sitting at the table again, he leaned his chin on his fist as his elbow supported his shifted weight, with one leg crossed over the other. He closed his eye, the light is starting to agitate it.

"Something amusing?" Panther wondered aloud, the question being directed towards Wolf.

"Not really..." He replied.

"Right. Like we're suppose to believe that." Falco scoffed. Wolf let his annoyance be known with a sigh.

"If you must know Lombardi, and apparently you must. I was thinking about why Fox put you four together. Not that the two of you would ever admit it, but the pairs are compatible."

"Explain." Falco demanded. Wolf opened his eye slightly to see if Fox was looking. To see if he was giving him a disapproval or not. He was still facing forward, acting like he isn't apart of the conversation.

"Think about it. Then again that's hard for you bird brain." Leon insulted Falco.

"Basically it's two halves of a whole. Panther maybe cunning majority of the time but he isn't technical smart like Slippy is. So if needed and it will most likely will be, Panther would be Slippy's cover fire while he's doing whatever it is he does. Both you and Leon are alike in more ways then one but Leon has a few things over your head as you do him. Leon may be a fit person but his fighting skill isn't all that, whereas yours is. You can be the distraction while he can slip in and get to the important part of the task." Wolf explained. Even though they hated to admit it, Wolf was right.

Krystal on the other hand was a little brought back by this. She didn't expect them to open up to any of them like that. Regardless if they were neutral enemies or not, they were still enemies. Sharing tactics wasn't something that you do with someone that you want to take down in the future. Then again Wolf is a lot smarter then he lets on. Him and Panther both. Leon shows it off all the time. She knows that Wolf is quietly picking and choosing the right words to say to let them in but at the same time keep them at bay. Smart, she thought to herself.

"What about you and Fox?" Krystal asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, we're both mature enough to stop bickering at each other and compromise to get things done."

"You know you're insulting your own team right?" Said Falco

"They're grown men. They can handle petty insults, otherwise they wouldn't be on my team in the first place." Everything that Wolf shot back at Falco came out smooth and sarcastic with a mature tune to his voice. Leon chuckled at Falco's agitated state.

"Alright Falco, calm down." Fox said. He was still smiling. Fox is indeed mature but can also be childish like Slippy. Unlike the two, Fox knew the perfect timing between acting like a child and acting as an adult.

"Don't tell me that, that's why you put us together?" Falco said. It doesn't take much for him to become irritated.

"Actually it is. Like Wolf just said; Two halves of a whole. Think of it like a puzzle. You have to have the right pieces in order for it to work. It's just the same with us. I know you're not going to listen to Wolf, even if I ordered you to. Besides, I just finished reading that there's a abandoned facility on one of the planets that I need Slippy to hack into. From what I've seen and have been told by Wolf, is that Panther has a keen eye and has a pretty good shot. So while Slippy is busy, Panther can keep him safe. The forest there is very thick and it gets dark pretty quick." Fox explained.

"Oh I get it. That makes perfect sense. Since it get dark faster, I'll need a light. The light will attract unwanted attention. I'll be too busy trying to hack it so Panther would be the one to ward them off until I get done." Slippy said, making a shorter summary.

"Right. Leon and Falco will be on a duel set planet just three planets from Panther and Sippy."

"Duel set?" Falco asked. He's never heard of a planet like that.

"A duel planet is extremely rare." Panther eyes widen with wonder. He, himself has only ever seen and been on one duel set planet.

"So you've been to one before?" Fox raised an eyebrow.

"I have. It's been a long time but still amazing to walk upon. There's very few out in the universe. One was taken apart by a war almost three millennium ago." Panther said, searching his memory. "They're tricky if you don't know what you're doing. Especially if you don't know you're way around one. They're basically moon sized mechanisms. Supposedly built to keep the most insane of people out of reach. They look like a planet from the outside but on the inside it has miles of metal passages running through the planet with its core being a cage. Many traps, triggers, lasers, and cameras. Even as old as they are now, everything should be fully functional."

"Those things are death traps. No one needs to go there." Krystal said. She had gotten up from her seat to grab a few papers that were about and figured she should pick them up and go file them away once she had explained herself.

"Is there something wrong with that toots?" Said Leon .

"My people hated those things. All they were ever for was to lock people away. A lot of the times when pirates tried to raid my home world to kidnap our women and steal anything else that they could get their hands on. They'd take it and them and disappear without a trace. And especially because we weren't a planet that like technology, there was nothing that we could do to stop them from leaving. It wasn't until we began to make trade with Corneria that my father, the king, had asked a general that was sent to make trade with us found the bodies of the women that were taken on one of those things. Pardon me if I'm a little agitated by the fact that we're having to go past something that means too much to my past." She took a deep breath and left the room as fast and as steadily as she could.

Fox knew she hated bringing up her home world. It wasn't like she could visit it any time she wanted too; it had blown up. No traces of it ever being there. Though that wasn't the specific reason why it bothered her so much. It was the fact that it was her entire culture that had just been erased from existence except for her. The people that she once called friends, family, and neighbors. The only she actually did have from home was the outfit she was wearing when she first met Fox and the others. Fox would never know the pain of loosing an entire planet where you knew everyone by name, but it was quite similar to loosing his father because his father was his world.

"Thought she was okay about mentioning her home?" Falco asked

"That wasn't mentioning her home, Falco." Fox calmly spoke. "It was a piece of planet history and a major part of her cultures history. It was terrible thing that often happened to her home world that if I was in her place, I wouldn't let it slide either. It's a sensitive topic for her, just dodge it as much as possible." Fox didn't go after Krystal because he knew she needed space right now. It would do her and them some justice.

"Alright..." the room grew quite for a minute before Leon asked what him and Wolf were planning on doing.

"What about you two?"

"The two of us will be the next planet up from you two. It's a tribal planet so it might help if we could get their acceptance. Maybe even an alliance from them if they're willing to help us."

"What happens if they disagree." Wolf asked.

"Then were screwed. Mainly because there isn't any signal on any of the planets." Fox said. "Peppy and Krystal will mainly be scouting through their own little planet they land on. Were only spending four days there before we have to pack it up and head to the council meeting." Fox finished.

Everyone agreed and went on about their business. Wolf headed back to his Arwing, though to go anywhere but to have a few minutes to himself. Leon and Panther also went to the dock. Panther was there to get some fresh air. The may be closed though he could always feel a wonderful breeze coming from there. Leon on the other hand didn't want to be around the others. It wasn't that they made him feel uncomfortable, just that he was out number and was beginning to make himself uneasy to be around them so he left with Panther. Though they both had the idea that Wolf might have something to say. After all there was the whole part where they didn't exactly follow the rules.

"What?" Leon asked Panther out of the blue as they made their way down the hall to the loading docks.

"Just thinking." He replied.

"About?"

"You must be really bored if you want to hear what I'm thinking about." Panther purred.

"Yes. Yes I am. Now spill it." Leon demanded.

"Well I personally find it weird that Wolf is rolling along with everything that's happened thus far. Even though it hasn't been much."

"And? He saw an opportunity to get the bounty paid off our heads for the first time. Is that so wrong?"

"It is if he's keeping secrets from us. Think about it, Leon. Isn't it a bit odd that he's been well behaved since we got here, especially around Fox and even towards him."

"And?" he repeated. "He might not accept Fox as a friend but he does have respect for him. He'll never admit it but he does."

"I know that. My point being is that even he would have some sort of defense up. Whether it's cracking funny insults towards the others or standing his ground like the leader he is."

"So you admit my jokes are funny?" Leon snickered as he caught that part of the sentence.

"Not my point." Panther was beginning to become aggravated by Leon.

"Okay, okay. Seriously though. What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to put it exactly. Let's just say it's a gut feeling." Leon nodded in agreement. They both came out the door that lead to the docks. At first glance Panther saw Wolf's cockpit open. He was sitting there looking at something in his hands but Panther couldn't see what it was.

"Figured you'd be here." Panther said as he walked up next to the space craft. Leon tailing in a few feet behind him.

"Mmm." He said.

"Something bothering you?" Leon asked.

"No." Oh, so all of a sudden you're not a talker, Leon thought to himself. Wolf set whatever was in his hands back into its hiding place. "What're you two doing down here anyway?" He asked them.

"I wanted some fresh air. And Leon is a lost pup without someone so he followed me." Panther mocked.

"Bit me flea bag." Leon retorted. Wolf's eye darting between the two as they bickered back and forth. Panther noticed the slightest detail that was bugging him earlier that he just couldn't officially point out until now.

"Mmm." Wolf repeated. He jumped out of the vehicle and stood before his teammates.

"Trying something new?" Panther asked Wolf. Wolf on the other hand didn't know what Panther was talking about until his yellow feline eyes darted a few inches down from Wolf's face and quickly looking back up. Shivers shot up his spine, hoping that he hadn't figured it out already. Wolf reached up and gently touched the thin neck brace that was around his neck from under the cloth, still baring a confused expression on his features.

"The turtle neck, Wolf. You once complained about how itchy it was whenever you wore one, remember?" Panther explained. That was right. Wolf hated wearing turtle neck shirts because it always made him itchy. Though he was lucky enough to find one that didn't itch, or at least not as bad. His nerves calmed down after hearing what he meant.

"Oh. Well it doesn't bother me so I figured why not. I'll need one just in case we have to go to a cold place." he shrugged as he let his hand fall back down to his side. "Why?"

"Because I have a thing for fashion. Why does everyone ignore that factor of me?" Panther asked himself. He was a bad guy but just like everyone else in the universe, he had his own little hobby. At one point in his life he considered being a fashion designer. He was a child at that point in time and had followed that dream for quite some time. Though life isn't easy and ripped that dream my Panther's heart, and like Leon and Wolf he too was forced into a life of crime but in a much more forceful way. The dream he once had died along with his family. Panther simply walked back the way him and Leon came through, leaving the two to speak amongst themselves.

"He's a strange cookie." said Leon.

"Yup." Wolf replied.

"But seriously, Wolf. You alright? You've been acting weird since you told us we had this case to work on." Leon doesn't tend to show his emotions and rarely allows himself to feel concerned about others. Wolf was the exception.

"Thought you weren't soft."

"Wolf.."

"I'm fine. Just stressed out okay? There's a lot ridding on this..." _'Like my head'_ "...and I intend to make this job a success. Now you heard what Fox said so try to work with that bird brain a little. The sooner we catch her the better." Wolf gave Leon a pat on the shoulder and made his way back to the control center. Wolf walked right past Panther whom was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms folded over his chest, waiting for the two to follow. Panther knew that Wolf saw Leon as a younger brother and would do anything necessary to keep him alive. Hearing every word coming out of Wolf's mouth, Panther faltered. There was a twinge of scarce in his voice as he spoke. Leon didn't seem to notice. Leon walked up beside Panther. Panther's eyes followed Wolf for a moment as he passed by him. Standing up straight, he waited for Wolf to walk a few more meters ahead of them before he spoke.

"Now that was definitely off."

"What?" Leon paused for a second and looked at Wolf. He got smaller and smaller as he continued down the hall. "Wolf?"

"Yes. I understand that in a way that he, nor you, will ever admit but he doesn't want me, let alone you to worry about something. It's like a mother putting on a brave face for their child and the child falling for the act. Besides he's been way too nice, even if it's just us he's talking to." Panther explained.

"So you really do think Wolf is hiding something from us?" Leon asked. He now sees that Panther was right.

"Yes I do. How we plan to get him to tell us is going to be tricky."

"Tricky is my middle name." Leon snickered.

Then the two made their way back where the others were. Once they entered the room they saw that Wolf and Fox were reading notes again. Wolf off to the side but still standing next to Fox while Fox was talking with Peppy about this and that. Falco and Slippy seemed to have been keeping themselves occupied for the mean time. Krystal on the other hand was still missing. Panther figured that she was still off on her own.

"Panther." Wolf called out to him, waving him over. Fox patted Peppy's arm as he turned around, walking past Panther and Leon as he left the room.

Fox had left the room for two reasons. One was to see if Krystal was okay. The second was to grab something that will pin a extremely strong signal to each person, that way it could reach the Great Fox in case anything went south.

"Krystal?" Fox called to her. She was standing next to the filing cabinet reading the papers in her hands. She looked up. He looked more closely and saw that her face was faintly stained with a few tear streaks. Walking up to her, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a friendly hug. Sure everyone knew it was a touchy topic for her, though none of them have seen her cry about it. Fox was the only one that she had let them see her cry. It was by accident of course, she had asked Fox how he would deal with stress or any emotion he didn't feel like dealing with and he had told her that he would go to the training room to take his mind off things. He didn't think she would take his advice but went to check anyway. He stood in the doorway for ten minutes before she gave up on trying to push her feelings away and broke down crying. It was a sad sight to see. Krystal had held herself to a very high standard because she is- or was a princess. She wasn't allowed to show weakness in front of others. After he made his prepense known, he walked over to her as she quickly wiped the tears away and acted like nothing happened. She had tried to play it off like she was just leaving and that it was sweat on her face but Fox wasn't buying it. He pulled her back and sat her down. He waited five minutes before she finally told him what was going on with her. He felt sorry for her and they both knew that there was nothing they could do to bring back her home world. Since that day him and Krystal had become closer. She would never figure out how he knew what was wrong with her at any given time. She gently hugged Fox back, wiping the tears away when they let go.

"Thank you." She quietly said.

"Any time." Fox smiled. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It's the same as I always say, Fox. The loss of my world is heavy in my heart. It is something I'm never going to get over."

"Yeah...Though this time it was something that continuously happened to your people while you were still living there." Fox leaned down a little to get her to look in his eyes and it worked. Her crystal blue eyes met his emerald green ones. She sighed aloud.

"I was still a child when the pirate raids came towards my planet. Cultural based planets could care less what happened above them as long as their people weren't bothered. That would be the only time they would get involved. I had seen a pirate when I was eight years old. I knew he didn't belong on my home world and I immediately ran to my parents. It was a good thing that they just assumed I was running away in fright of their presence. So when I told my father whom was taught be a kind person from long before my birth, how to speak in your tongue. He told them to leave and never come back. The strange man said he couldn't do that. That's when he yelled for his men to attack. Using weapons that we had never seen up until that point were used against us. They came back again and again and again. Relentlessly took everything we had. Leaving us with barely enough food for our own families and supplies to make homes for our children. We eventually migrated to the other side of the planet and after a few years their terrorizing began again. But that's also when we began trade with Corneria. My father said that if he could take these evil people away from our planet and keep us safe then he would glad to be an alli to them. I specifically remember that part because I was hiding behind my father's leg." She smiled at the memory. Her father would always call her his BooShiNaKa, which in her native tongue meant "My precious little world". Tears began to form in her eyes again. How she missed her father.

"Your mother wasn't in the picture?" Fox asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"She had died from a rare sickness the year before the pirates came, thank the gods." again, Krystal wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you Fox. It means a lot for you to care so much." She smiled weakly. Fox pulled her into a hug again, muffling her cries.

"It's not a problem Krystal. It's always better to let you're emotions out then to keep them bottled up inside you. If you ever need to talk then just pull me aside alright?" Fox said. The concern in his voice was mixed with a bit of his sweet personality. Krystal loved how much Fox cared about others. She dried up her tears enough to make it to the rest room and back to the command center.

"I think I'm going to fine now." She said

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She gave him a quick squeeze before heading off to the bathroom. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

He smiled at her before searching for the devices. He walked over to one cabinet and looked inside it. He didn't see it at first then he saw it after he moved a few things from out in front of it. He grabbed it and went back to the command center.

"Hey Fox." Falco said as he saw his leader walk back into the room. "When were done with whatever it is we're supposed to do on our own little world, how do we report that we're finished or get off the world and back to the Great Fox?"

"It shouldn't take you and entire day to infiltrate a building. One of the papers that Tompson faxed over has the exact location of your targets, so we'll be dropping you off either near or on top of them. It only takes mere hours to jump from one planet to the next. At noon of the third day NUS will start picking us up."

"Alright, I guess." Said Falco.

* * *

After everyone had been dropped off at their destination, NUS reported to Commander Tompson. He parked the Great Fox near his fleet of men. So far each pair are making their way towards their targets that were assigned to them. Panther and Slippy were already there. They only had a minor problem. The field of booby-traps that laid out before the duo.

"This is fantastic." Panther grumbled.

"Aw come on. We've been through worse, right?"

"I suppose." looking into the field that stretched out in front of them, Panther can make out a few traps here and there. "I can see a few of them. There's no telling if there's any implanted mines."

"Don't worry about that. I got this baby to track those down for us." Slippy pulled out a metal detector. It was built like any other you would see only more high tech. It bared a larger rang and stronger signal to detect metal and will identify the object by name while showing in image of it on a small screen.

While Slippy and Panther began to make their way through the death field, Falco and Leon were making their way to their destination. Their boots clanking as they walked. The planet was covered in a large moss and trees even survived on the planet. The ship lifted up and left them as they continued.

"It really is metal..." Falco whispered to himself in disbelief.

"Too chilly here for my taste."

"Lets just get to the center and figure out what we can find."

"Right. I just wonder why we had to come to a total metal planet that needs to be hacked into to find anything." Leon said.

"Good point."

Krystal and Peppy were left on their little planet to search for anything unusual. Everything they see they have to report, even if it's nothing. Peppy's planet had more fields than Krystal's did. Her's is a thick jungle. By the sounds of it, there may be a few wild life in there. She'll just have to be careful and calm her racing heart. Meanwhile Fox and Wolf were set on the tribal planet. It was more baren then Fox had exspected. Deserted desert for as far as the eye could see.

"This is going to be fun." Wolf sarcastically complained.

"Hopefully we won't run into any wild creatures here."

"Yeah...Let's just get this over with." Fox put out his arm to stop Wolf. "What?"

"Were already being watched." Wolf followed Fox's gaze and say multiple sets of eyes staring at them from a distance. They stayed there staring, didn't move even if they say that the pair could see them.

"Well...lets see if they're going to follow us. They might cause us a problem later."

"So big white eyes don't freak you out in the least?" Fox looked at him for a moment before looking back and seeing that they were gone. "Looks like they left already."

"Doesn't mean that they won't be back." Wolf's heart had been racing since they arrived on the planet. It wasn't that he was scared because there might be something out there trying to kill them. He's already been in those situations before. It was the fact that Tompson was too close for comfort. A press of a button and he was dead. He shook the thoughts away and tried to focus at what their objective was in the mean time.

"Let's head towards where the eyes were just at." Fox said and started walking. Wolf close behind.

Leon and Falco were having fun trying to find a hatch to get inside the center of the planet. They searched high and low for an opening of some sort. As far as they could see, there was trees and moss everywhere. No hidden passage way that they could find. Leon jumped on top of a large, oddly shaped boulder. Falco stepped closer to the rock as Leon got a better view of the surrounding area. Pulling at the thick vines that Leon was currently standing on, Falco saw that there was some sort of round red metal.

"Hey. Get off that real quick, think I found something." He pulled at the vines some more, ripping them from atop of the "boulder" only to find out that it wasn't even a rock.

"I think we found a way in." Leon smirked.

"Yeah. Only two hours here and we found one." Leon twisted the circular object and it shot open, slinging Leon ten feet away with him landing on his back.

"Ahahaha!" Falco busted out laughing. "Funniest thing I've seen in a long time."

"Shut up." Leon gripped. He picked himself up and began to crawl into the howl after Falco.

"So far there doesn't seem to be any traps for entering. Let's head this way." Falco began to walk off towards his right. The railings below were lined up equally and parallel. In every direction there was a door that allowed one to pass to the next level, both above and below. Leon left marker prints on the walls to let him know if they've been there before or not. Falco had no knowledge of this. A special contact lens allows Leon to see the marked place's by using his specialty pen for that purpose.

Falco noticed the small doors and opened the next one. They both jumped down to the next level until they arrive at the core. Unbeknownst to them that the sun was already setting. For Panther and Slippy, it wouldn't be a problem entirely. With Panther's night vision, it made it a bit easier to see what might be lurking in the darkness around the two.

* * *

"Hurry up. We already spent most of the day trying to find this place. We need to get in and out a.s.a.p." Panther told Slippy.

"Yeah I know that. It's not like this is as easy as saying your numbers ya know."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that this place looks to be a few millennium old. This technology may be similar as to Corneria but it seems to have a lot more differences than predicted." he explained. Slippy added before Panther could respond. "And yes this was built by the Cornerian government. Why it was abandoned is still a mystery today. They reported that the people working here had just vanished into thin air. Eventually everything stopped working on it's own. I just feel bad for those families that never knew what happened to their loved ones that worked at these facilities." A clicked sound came from the circuit box.

"What was that?" Panther asked.

"Uh, I think I got us in by messing up the circuit breaker." Slippy pulled the doors apart before stepping in. The was sounds of rummaging coming from inside before Slippy jammed a crowbar between the doors and pried them open even more. "There we go."

Slippy grabbed his things before following Panther into the building. The room the were in only had a metal desk covered in a thick layer of dust. Panther turned the flashlight that was built in on his gun, on. Looking around he saw that the whole place was covered in the thick layer of dust. There were foot prints in the dust covered floor, and they were fresh.

"Stay close. Someone's either came here before us and left just recently or they're still here with us." Said Panther.

"Oh boy. This just keeps getting better and better."

Slippy pried open the next set of doors, assuming the desk didn't have anything worth checking out.

"What did Fox want to get from here again?" Panther asked Slippy to take his mind off things.

"Well he said that this one particularly was a information center for the work force here, the Cornerian army, and the asylum that Lollipop was issued in. He thinks she stopped by here before being sighted which would explain those footprint that we saw."

"Right. Or she could have came this way after being ratted out."

"That's what I'm hoping she didn't do."

"Where would that information be held at exactly."

Slippy pulled up blueprints of the building on his visual hologram watch. He had it scan the room to detect where the were currently to figure out which way they need to go.

"Well it says that all we need to do is go down one flight of stairs and make a few turns and we should find the filing room to our left. The only thing is, is that they're regular papers and not stored in as data so we have to be careful with them or they'll be ruined." Slippy said.

The world outside continued. Turning from night to day within a few hours. Three more days to go before they will have to take their leave. Thus far, Panther and Slippy are on a lead. Everyone else is currently walking around aimlessly, such as Falco and Leon.

To Be Continued...


	9. New Plan? Part Two

Krystal had been walking around for a day and a half now. There wasn't anything out of the order that popped out to her. Going on the third day and yet she still hadn't found anything, and it was bugging her. She then realized that not finding any trace of her is something found; one less place she won't visit. She wasn't ordered to find anything specific nor was she to just do nothing either. She had made camp early the previous night. It was pitch black thus it was made difficult to move around and continue looking. She did however, find a few burial sights and tombs. Of course she didn't go in them, that would be disrespecting them.

After the sun had risen for the new day, Krystal set out to find food before she hiked up the small mountain. The planet that she was assigned to was a fruit baring planet. No meat besides fish could be found. It took her an hour or two to locate and take down some fruit. This planet has three different fruit. One in which Krystal knew was safe to eat. She gathered enough to last her the day. As she traveled back to her shelter, she felt as though there were eyes following her everywhere. She shook it off as her being period being by herself. It took her a few minutes to arrive at her makeshift home, only to find it destroyed. Her dark blue orbs widen with horror. No one was supposed to be on this planet except for her, Tompson's men should have made sure of that. To top it all off, she has no way to contact anyone for help if it came down to it.

With her heart racing, she tried to calmly walk away. She needed to find a clearing to settle her thoughts and to figure out a plan for when and if whoever is out there decides to strike. She will be ready regardless if she's prepared herself or not. Turning her back to the scene, she jogged a straight mile until she came upon a cave of some sort. All it took was one look before something lunged out to grab her and drag her into the darkness...

Peppy on the other hand had traveled most of the planet in less then two days. His assigned planet was much small compared to it's neighbors. Though Peppy doesn't know what the other planets look like or have any remote clue as to what they had in store for his comrades but he could tell he got one of the easiest out of the bunch. He didn't know what else to do besides look for clues that she could have been here. As much as Peppy inspected and examined, there were none. For now all he could do is wait until it was time to leave. He hopes that the others have had better luck than he did.

Speaking of the others, Falco and Leon have made a discovery. Their previous discovery have lead them to a new one; One of few hatches that lead to the inner sanctum of the planet, along with clues.

"Okay. We got some pictures of ancient writing." Falco spoke aloud. He began to check off the things that they had discovered. Leon is either agreeing or disagreeing.

"Yup."

"Found a few electronic things for Slippy to take a look at."

"Yeah."

"We also found a file and video tapes and other documents that looked important."

"Yup."

"And we found a few dead bodies that looked like they might be people from Krystal's' tribe in which we are not going to tell her that last part because we want to live."

"Got that right."

It is in that moment that they both realized that they were indeed more alike then they would have preferred. The pair had less then a day to return to the surface and await for NUS and the rest of the team.

"I'm assuming you know the way out?"

"Shut it smart ass."

"Just follow me." Leon said as he chuckled. Using a specially made light, he flicked the projecting light onto the walls to find the marks he had made in case they got lost. All the marks are on the left side since they came from the opposite way the first time. As the two walked down the mechanical hallways, illuminating the wall with a dull purple. Catching each mark while looking for the next. They were coming up where they had found the bodies. Making a left turn, all the lights flicked off. Neither of them said a word. Instead they focused on their breathing. Reaching out behind him, Leon tried to grab a hold of Falco. Unknowingly, Falco is doing the same, and both find the others arm, or so they thought.

' _I doubt he's_ that _tall_.' Leon thought. Turning around slightly he flashed the light at Falco and see that he's standing back a few feet. Not close enough for them to be in arms length of one another. He eased up on the button only to have the hallway light up with a orange hue. The light came from the mouth of the seven foot tall creature. It's white eyes looking at the two. Finally common sense hit the two and they ran for their lives, in opposite directions.

Stumbling through the halls, not daring to look back. It had took them a while to find a way out. Luckily Falco found the way that they came in and managed to get out first. As he crawled backwards, his hand came across a slippery surface. Looking down he found it to be some sort of picture hidden under moss. It was then that Leon crawled out of the entrance. Though the creature didn't seem to be right behind him like he had expected it to be. Falco turned his attention back to the photograph. He reached for it. Falco jumped back as the hand to the creature that was just chasing them, appeared out of the ground. Falco snatched the picture and jumped up, running along side Leon. It's just a matter of hours before they would see their teammates. For now they'll just have to dodge whatever creature that it was.

"You good?" Falco breathed out with what little breath he could spare. All Leon could do is nod in response.

"Maybe we should tell Krystal about this?" Falco is uncertain if and how they should tell her or any of the others about what just happened. She actually might know something about this. Spiritual business is the one thing she is the best at. Brushing off his legs and arms, he stood up and scanned around the area. They had ran into the middle of the forest. Looking at the timer on his wrist watch, it is counting down from three hours and fourteen minutes. "Still got about three hours to go. So live until then." Leon once again nodded in response.

NUS is on his way to pick up the two along with Peppy. Once they had arrived and picked up the panic written duo, they all headed towards Krystal's planet, then go get their team leaders before finally heading off to the Grand Galaxy Control Board meeting.

Though Krystal has a lot to figure out now that she has been dragged into an unknown cave. She wearily got up and felt the ground beneath her hands as she stood up along side the wall. A feeling of uneasiness washed over her as a bright blue light appeared beneath two solid white eyes. It showed no emotion nor did it move. Strange was the first word that came to mind. It didn't seem to have a gender, which meant it is gender neutral. Neither did it seem to want to hurt her. These tributes reminded her of something her father once told her but she just couldn't remember what though. The thought had been pushed aside when torches lit up around her and down further into the cave. Looking back to the being, she can now tell it is over six feet tall with pure black tendrils hanging down from its head. The creature has long limbs. Its hands brushed the ground as it had to hunch over slightly with bent knees. Carefully, she walked along side the wall, feeling the jagged rocks brush up against her hands and back. Krystal kept her eyes on the creature before it disappeared into the shadows of the rocks.

"Great." She told herself. She is on her own for now, her friends will arrive soon. For now she'll just explore this new found hiding spot.

Krystal walked straight ahead for the next hour. She walked through what once a cave entrance to a tunnel and now she made her way through a small tavern. It looked quite similar to a old town bar. The tables and seats where formed by the rock itself. As is the bar and the shelves behind it. There were even bottles left in their places as she walked past the counter top. She looked towards the back to find another doorway. Walking through it came an amazing sight. A village of a past so long ago. The atmosphere brought the place to life within her as she took one step after another. A regular home is the size of the squared buildings. None of them had roofs or closed in windows or doors. The entire village is connected by a rope bridge. The closer Krystal came to the long forgotten village, the more she realized that it wasn't even a village. Each structure was more of a home than a store.

Pots of various of sizes set along the walls, empty. A few staffs were found here and there as she walked into each building. _'This doesn't seem like a home either. There's no beds or stored food anywhere.'_ Keeping that thought in mind, Krystal came into a room that is painted with different images. Papers littered the floor all around her. She picked up a few to see what they had drawn onto the parchment. To her, they looked like tribal art work. The pictures weren't so clear but she could still see the story that they were telling. This is important, though she shouldn't take it. these items belong to this long forgotten and disassembled tribe, whomever they were. The surrounding area is nothing but a memory. One that has erased from history. A peng in her heart, and a silent tear fell. Krystal wished that there was something that she could do to keep this culture alive and for as long as she could.

Looking up to the rocky ceiling that shone down specks of light, giving this society a bit of a brighter future. That's when she noticed there was a rather giant statue on the other side of the cavern. Krystal gathered all the papers in the room she is currently in and began taking pictures of all the papers. Ten minutes it took her to do the simple task, then she got up to take more pictures of the walls. She then turned her attention to the overwhelming statue at the far end of the room. She swiftly ran from room to room and across the unstable bridges as she made her way to the statue. As she walked up to it, it is even bigger than she thought. The rocks next to it allowed her to climb to the top of it. There she took another picture of the whole area. Programming the camera to fly out a small distance to take a photo of the statue.

A beeping sound erupted from her wrist watch. It read one hour. One more hour until it's time to go. She climbed back down and made her way back to the maze of buildings. Before she actually stepped foot into the first building, she turned around and saw the creature once again. It stood there like it had before when it first brought her here. In the blink of an eye it was gone once more. As she walked back to the forest, killing forty minutes of her time, she wondered if that the creature is the last of its kind. Maybe it just wanted someone to know about them before it would fade away to history and time. Just like the rest of its culture...

Each planet is a different size, thus making the time different as well. To each of the team members they're going to be there for four consecutive days. This little note was made by Wolf. He recalled reading it from the papers that Commander Tompson faxed over. Slippy decided to hand everyone whom was going out into the field, a watch that will count down four days in hours time. Those four days have gone by, leading up to the meeting in which they must present information that they have gathered. As the minutes continued to count down, Wolf and Fox found themselves in a bit of a pickle. Hanging upside down, tied back-to-back with Wolf in the middle of a village.

"Isn't this lovely."

"Shut it McCloud."

"Aw come on. How about we just recap what happened the few days that we've been here, shall we?" Fox began to describe how their past few days has been. "Let's see. There was the first day, nothing really happened besides some eyeballs stalking us. Not a problem. The second day hadn't been that much different except from the fact that these people chased us up the side of a mountain and pitch black tunnels. Now the third day had been a hoot. We got chased, almost speared to death, fell off the side of a cliff and chased again, and adding on top of that, they took our weapons so now we're defenseless. So on a scale of one to ten, I'd say we're both pretty pissed off right now." He chuckled.

"I'd hate to see you when you're happy." Wolf chuckled. Their conversation wasn't getting them anywhere but at least they could speak to one another. It didn't seem like the people knew their language. That also seemed to be the only bright side to their situation.

"Ha ha, very funny. But not only that, we also get to hang upside down like all best friends do. And I can't help but wonder how Leon and Falco are doing."

"When we get out of this and back to the ship, I don't want you saying a single word to anyone about this. Got it?"

"But-"

"Not. A. Word."

"Fine. Though how do you think we're going to get out of here anyway?" Fox asked.

"Beats me." Wolf said all nonchalant

"We'll aren't we lucky."

The people became quite as a single man came forward. He had different markings on his body. A headdress sat upon his head as he walked around with his head held high. A type of shell that is a very light purple with darker stripes of purple painted on them, rested around his neck. He seemed to be the higher up in this tribe. He, along with the rest of his people, wore a grass skirt and their skin is an sun-burnt orange. He causally walked up to them, eyeing them as if looking for something specific.

"He na talico bab jamulip." He stated. Fox raised an eyebrow. "Nana-ticcia nobablo?" He said. The man began rambling in different languages, seeing as each one hadn't worked. "Do you speak english?"

"Ah yes." Fox said. They were all relieved that they can understand one another.

"Ah. Hello there. I am chief Na-calon-bubba, of the tribe Jileehu, and welcome to our home world." The chief greeted with a smile on his face as he slightly bowed.

"I see. Well my name is Fox McCloud and I am the leader of the mercanary team Star Fox. This here with me is my comrade Wolf O'Donnell. He is the leader of the mercenary team Star Wolf."

"Well isn't that cute. You're named after what you are and so is your teams. fancy that. What can I do for you today?'

"You can start by u us." Wolf said.

"Oh I'm sorry but I can't do such a thing until the elder has said we can. But do you mind telling me why you're intruding on our sacred lands?"

"Intruding? Wha-no. That's not it at all. We're here on a mission. We're looking for a woman that goes by the name of Lollipop. She was spotted here a few days ago in this general area." Fox explained.

"Never heard of her." He simple stated. The man was then brushed aside of a crippled older man stepped forward. The wrinkles on his face and his hunched back told him that this is the elder chief Na-calon-bubba was talking about.

"Nu-ji hahalu hife git bay?" The elder spoke in a raspy voice as he spoke in their native tongue.

"Oh." Na-calon-bubba cleared his voice and told the elder what Fox had told him.

"Judba-njui nibdhu." The elder commanded.

"He demands that you give a description of this woman you speak of."

"She's about five foot, long blonde hair, short clothing, a piercing on her stomach, and green eyes." Said Fox. The chief translated for the elder to understand. Humming a note for a moment he told the chief, and he translated.

"He says that she is known as the 'High Mountain Wind'." he stated calmly. "She is named as such because she has a fierce and bold personality as a mountain. High, because she sees herself better than you, and I can see why too." he muttered the last part to himself. "Wind, because she is as swift and as graceful as such. Typically we just kill whoever enters the sacred lands but there is a prophecy that has been told about all of this."

"I think I've heard enough bull shit to one day." Wolf said.

"Ah, ah, ah. This day was for-told ages ago. Here, let me tell you how this has gone thus far. The one known as Lollipop is a shattered heart but she is one of two. Living opposite lives. One of childhood dreams and memories. The truth lies within those two. I would show you the images that go along with this but you must be on your way. We haven't seen her on this world so go check somewhere else." The people began pushing them in the direction of the dessert, handing them their weapons.

"So that's it? We just leave?"

"Looks like that's all we _can_ do. Or at least for now it is. Let's head back and see what the others have found. Our time is almost up anyway so we got to hurry." Fox said. As much of a disappointment as the trip had been, they would have to come back another time. For now they have better things to attend to, such as the meeting with the GCCB.

The minutes were counting down. Fox, Wolf and their teams will discuss how things are surfiecing on their side of things. Lollipop on the other hand is just beginning. Her plan hasn't even been set up yet, let alone begun. Waiting patiently in the shadows of the orange rocks that made the tribe's home had been her hiding spot until Fox and Wolf left. Now that she can finally stretch her limbs, she embarked herself on another spy mission. Lolly knew she is a well known criminal and is on the most wanted list but what she didn't know was that the GCCB wanted an audience with her. If they wanted to meet her that badly then meet her they shall. _'Until next time.'_


	10. Galactic Criminal Control Board Meeting

Hours has past since the team have been retrieved from each planet. Everyone presented what they had and hadn't found. In all honesty, Krystal, Leon, and Falco's story about the black figure seemed a little out of place. Fox questioned the three about it to see what else they can come up with.

"Almost seven feet tall?" Asks Falco.

"Yeah. And big white eyes?" Says Krystal, and then Leon.

"Oh yeah. Did it have a wide orange mouth?"

"Orange? No, the one I saw had a blue opening for a 'mouth'."

"Okay, okay. Let me get this straight. The three of you, despite being on two different worlds, saw the same thing only slightly different? This creature, what did it do exactly?" The question is towards the three in general, if not more towards Krystal since she was the one to be on her own.

"Bird brain and I were headed back when all the lights turned off. Doing my homework from watching all those horror movies all the time, I know for a fact that you should find the nearest person and stick with them until you get caught. Instead of finding wing-ding here, I found the big black and lanky. It lite the place up with its orange mouth." Leon said.

"At least we think that was its mouth. Its eyes were the size of soccer balls and pure white. The thing scared the crap out of us and we managed to get out. I had been the first to get out, then Leon. Then the both of us got the hell out of there while we still could." Falco says.

"So you're telling me you two actually got along?" Panther picked and teased.

"We almost got killed."

"Still, that is a bit of a surprise. Though I am proud that you at least had enough decency not to ditch each other." Fox said as he spoke up between the banter. "But I'm not sure I believe your ghost story."

"It does seem to be a bit far fetched, even for you Falco." Slippy said as he kept his eyes on the files in front of him. He and Panther had explained that they found loads of papers and other forms of information that Slippy, himself will be going through while they're on their way to the GCCB meeting.

"The toad has a point. What about you Krystal?" Wolf asked the blue vixen.

"Well, mine simply snatched me from within side of a cave opening. It lite the surrounding area with a blue hue and I saw that the cave went further then it seemed, so I checked it out. Turns out I was right. Though the being simply watched me creep along the wall. Not once did I take my eyes off of it. It did disappeared and I hadn't seen it since that point on. I found this magnificent place. Here, I took pictures."

NUS pulled up Krystal's saved files. The images showed the abandoned society and her on top of the statue. The point in seeing Krystal with the statue is to see just how large the place really is.

"Wow." Slippy says from the back of the group.

"Indeed. At first I thought it may have been a village and market place but I found no food source so I thought of it as a village. Again, there was no source to support that theory. Though I can say that there had to have been some sort of tribe or a race that lived there." Krystal pulled up the pictures of the walls. "I only say that because of what is written and drawn all over the walls in this room alone. None other has such markings. In that very room I had also found pictures of the said beings. The statue is at the other end of the cavern." She explains.

"A god that they worshipped?" Panther questioned.

"I'm not sure. But from what I can tell is that this tribe or society has depleted over time. That or they could be nearing the end of the existence of their people."

"So you think those black things wanted to share their history with you?" Falco mocked. He received a agitated grunt from the blue fox.

"As interesting as this is, this has nothing to do with Lollipop." Fox states. This startles Krystal. "I don't entirely believe in these paranormal events. And that's only because they don't happen to me. Though I still-"

"Wait. I found this on the ground before Leon and I ran off." Falco handed Fox the picture. The image was of a little girl. Bright hazel eyes beamed up at the camera. Her blonde hair pulled back into two pig tails as she clutched a teddy bear, smiling brightly as she was too proud of loosing a tooth that she didn't care if anyone could see the gap. Her fur was cream peach color. It wasn't the little girl that caught his attention. It was the pair of large white eyes peering through the partially closed door behind her. Fox hummed for a moment as he handed the photo to Wolf for him to inspect.

"Obviously this photo wasn't taken nowhere on any of the planets, and had to have come from somewhere where there's civilization." Wolf said.

"Yeah. Who's the kid in the picture and why did it want to show us this?" Fox asked aloud.

"Don't know but we'll have to brush that aside for now, we're here." Wolf turned off the screen. NUS parked the Great Fox in a swift motion right by the other ships. One by one the group exited the ship, walking through security. Retina scans, finger prints, photo ID's and so on. Fox's team waited in the lobby as Wolf and his crew were patented down for more secure reasons. Once they were done and met up with the others, General Peppers came into the room.

"Right on time as usual." Peppers greeted. "When we get the chance, you, Wolf and I must discuss about what transpired between you two and Commander Tompson. Besides that I hope you've manage to put together a convincing speech to get them off all our backs."

"I am for certain that we got this and can handle an question that they're going to throw at us." Wolf stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked past General Peppers. He made his way to the door of the meeting room, hearing the muffled arguments through the thickly built door. "Shouldn't we get in there and over with this. The sooner we get this meeting over with, the sooner we can get back to our job."

"Yes, yes. Off we go." General Peppers ushered the group into the room.

The room is filled with different officials baring their home world attire. Fox could only recognize one or two. Wolf wished he didn't know any of them. He was all to familiar with Notzar, a warthog that helped Corneria in the Lylat wars. Then there was the Affrey socialism runners. They are twin simease cats and close allies with the District Evo. A world that has the highest in evolution in technology. Also a close alli with Corneria. Wolf sighed to himself, walking at a brisk pace to his seat next to Fox. Strangely enough Wolf sought out some form of comfort from the pup, though he will not admit it that at this very moment, being surrounded by the Star Fox crew, made him feel safe. When the group took their seats, all side by side before the grand jury, in a room the size of half a football field. The jury sat on their side of the room, their seats slightly elevated to make them look more intimidating. Fox, Wolf, both of their teams, as well as General Peppers, and Commander Tompson sat on the other side of the room, facing the jury. The gavel banged against the wooden table in front of he obese male raccoon.

"Now that we are all here, I would like to get this meeting underway. We have much to discuss." the old raccoon switched around some files before speaking again. "I am judge Matthew and I must note that you have done a better job than I thought. Catching her partner and now all we need is her."  
"Your honor, Wolf isn't an accomplice. He's working under my jurisdiction." The room bustled in low-toned voices as judge Matthew banged the gavel, ordering the court to settle down.

"Explain what you mean."

"What I mean is just that. Wolf had been tracked down and ordered by General Peppers to work along side my team. So far they've proven useful."

"Is this true General Peppers?"

"It is. I have full faith in Fox which is why I put Wolf and his team under his command." General Peppers said. "I believe that having a criminal or three would help track her down at a smoother pace."

"He _is_ a criminal." The twins shouted.

"He should be behind bars or dead." Says Notzar.

"Quite!" Matthew banged his gavel once more. "Next outburst with result in a recess and suspicion. Now, if he is put under order by the General then by all means he better have a plan to keep him in check along with his little friends."

"You can settle down your honor. General Peppers and I spoke before these mercenary teams were hired. Yes they are indeed criminals, each with a very expensive bounty on their heads. Wolf, more so. I do tend to remind General Peppers as well as Wolf himself. As long as you're working for us, he will obey like the good boy he is." Commander Tompson smirked.

"And do pray-tell how you will keep him from turning on you, Commander?" Matthew asked, now intrigued by Tompson's statement.  
"Well I know for a fact that the Star Wolf is as close to each other as the Star Fox members are. It's rather pitiful to see that it is the truth for them. Powalski and O'Donnell here survived the war together and haven't left each other's side. Thus leads me to believe that he wouldn't want his precious pathetic lord to die. The three are just as stupid as predicted, Wolf even more so."

"Now that's enough." Fox shot up from his seat. He wanted to shut Tompson up and keep him from spilling lies. "Not another word. I understand that he and his teammates lived a life of crime and that they'll continue doing so after this is all over. But here and now, Wolf has been helpful. He's given us detailed records of all her locations. Even her identity in less than fifteen minutes. As General Peppers has said, with a criminal insight it will help to figure out what type of criminal she is, leading us t whatever it is that she wants."

"So, what have you found out about her?" Notzar asks Fox. Peppy was the one to step up and speak.

"Well we know that she is smart enough to plan a route that she so happened upon trying to make her escape. She knows where ever security camera is, important files, and where important meetings are being held. For all we know she could be watching us right now."

"I under stand that Mr. Hare but I know she isn't here. This is a highly secured facility. Everything and Everyone goes through multiple security checks all around the building."

"With all due respect judge Matthew but she has escaped the 'highly secured' detention center before she escaped her 'highly secured' room at the mental hospital. Mr. Hare is right. We do not know for certain if she is in here or not." Panther said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"How did you know that? That wasn't in the report from Tompson." Matthew and Commander Tompson looked baffled.

"As I said before. They've provided what is necessary." Says Fox.

"I would like to hear the rest of what Commander Tompson was going to say, if you all don't mind." A slender crocodile said from off the side of the room. "You were about to tell us how you are to keep Wolf and his team from misbehaving."

"Yes I was." The smirk never left his face. Commander Tompson had talked with General Peppers about letting the Star Fox team help. At first he refused. His team is trained to do jobs such as this without any help. When he accepted that he had no choice in the matter, Peppers had also told him that the Star Wolf will also be working on the case.

"You see, since I didn't have a choice whether or not Fox and his team were to help mine I simply accepted it. That's when my dear old friend slipped it by me that Wolf and his crew are to work under Fox, helping him as he is helping me. I refused of course. Though we did come to an agreement. If Wolf or his teammates is to leave then a Star Fox member has to be with them and report every hour on the hour they are gone. And since Wolf is the only one that is to be allowed anywhere near the evidence then he must wear his collar like the mut he is." Tompson pulled out a controller of some sort. Though it had a dial or two and a bug red button, Fox nor Krystal and a few others understood what its purpose is. From where he sat, Slippy eyed the small hand held device. He figure that since it is hand held device then it had to be for a close range for it to work. Then he saw a grey metal box sitting just a few feet towards his right, at the edge of the table, between Tompson and Fox. He pieced together that what ever is in the box is also what the remote is for.

"This little gadget in here," he popped the box open to reveal a thick electronic collar. Two lights blinked, one red and the other green. Little steel spikes hide within the inner side of the collar. "is what will keep him in place." The room fell silent. A whisper or two occurred, though not loud enough to hear. Fox looked down at the box. Seeing the collar in there he quietly picked it up and clamped it around his neck.

"Fox." Krystal gasped. Everyone's attention turned to Fox.

"What's the difference between Wolf and I? We're both mercenaries, both work for money, we both had a rough life, him even more so than I. Yet you want to downgrade him because he doesn't work for you? Obviously you cant trust a mercenary leader. Meaning if you can't trust him to do his job, regardless of the reason he chose to accept it, then you can't trust me."

"Do you know what you're doing boy?" General Peppers growled.

"Yes I do, sir. I appreciate the fact and belief that you've put into me but this is wrong. Whose to say that I might not turn against Commander Tompson or someone else? I say this is for the best." He explains himself. Falco thought of Fox as an idoit for doing such a thing. everyone else thought of him as crazy.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Peppy asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Fox you can't-" Krystal tried to beg.

"I am. As your leader I suggest that you accept it." Fox said in a stern voice.

"Oh well. It can't be helped." Said Tompson.

A loud but slow applause echoed through the silent room. Most of the people standing within the room shot their gazes to the wall. A long cat walk was etched onto the far right wall from where Commander Tompson stood. The space between the cat walk and the ceiling is quite large. The applause came to a even slower stop. Wolf, whom hadn't looked up just yet, and a strange feeling and looked up. His purple eye meeting bright green ones. Her blonde hair surrounded her body, never in her way. The smile on her face is just as cocky as the smirk that was on Tompson's face.

"Oh please don't stop on my account." she folded her hands neatly on the middle of her chest. "This was just got to the best part." She giggled.

"Lollipop.." Judge Matthew said lowly.

"The one and only." her smile seemed to stretch even further across her face. Lollipop began to pace back and forth on the cat walk, speaking calmly. "Ya know those little dog collars are new. And what better way to test them out on a lowly crook like Wolf. I do applaud you Tompson, I do. Then again that button isn't just for Wolf's."

Realization came to the group. even Wolf and General Peppers. Lollipop had listened in to the whole conversation, hidden in the vent. A couple of times she was about to say something but decided against it. Though the thought of Wolf working with her didn't seemed that bad. If he did decide to join her then she would do him a favor and take the collar off. "Then again he would've played with me and rejoin his friends."

"What?" Slippy said aloud. She didn't realize that she had spoke aloud.

"Nothing. I can see that the old flea bag hadn't told you its little secret. Yes you knew that the thing could kill you but what you didn't know is that one press of that big and shiny red button, and you both die. Along with anyone else wearing a collar." Lollipop looked over to Fox, his expression slightly changed.

No one moved. If they aren't careful then someone can either get injured or die. They were walking in mid-air right now and talking with her seemed to be the best choice as of right now. Wolf stood up, still keeping his eye on her, spoke up. His voice rang through her loud and proud.

"What are you doing here? You know very well that there's a slim chance that you won't escape, right?"

"Oh you're so cute when you think you're a step ahead of me." She teased. Laughing at the look on their faces, she plopped down on the cat walk, swinging her legs back and forth. "All you did was argue. I do appreciate the outlook you have Fox. Really it is admirable. One day those pathetic little dreams you have will die. Burning in its self inflicted glory...like your father." her words turned dark and her smiled vanished. A blast scrapped the top of her shoulder, burning the wall behind her. "Struck a nerve?" She asked innocently.

"Next time I'll actually aim for you." Fox said. His words hiss venom and the once gently look in his eyes turned ice cold. All armed forces are allowed to have one hand gun on their person. For reasons such as Lollipop, an intruder. In Fox's eyes no one had the right to say anything remotely about his father. With what little memory he had of him, he would be damned if he'd let anyone disrespect him in this life.

"With all due respect McCloud. He's gone. Get over it. Besides all you can do is cry like a baby." she giggled." If you're done with your little fit, then I'd like to say a few words."

"Why should we listen to anything you say girl?" Says Commander Tompson.

"Oh I don't know. Because it's a polite thing to do? Because you're all locked in this room with me? And maybe I won't blow this building sky high?"

"Fine. What do ya' want?" Leon said.

"Mmm what do I want?" Lollipop jumped from the cat walk and onto the benches where the grand jury is sitting. All the members scattering away from the middle of the loft, huddling to each other. "Now that's not nice." They all knew that she is messing with them, stalling for time. For what?

"Would you stop playing around and talk." Wolf snapped.

"Shouldn't have said that sweetheart." If the word evil could be personified, it would have Lollipop's smile. With the snap of her fingers the lights turned off. Taking out two cans of sticky net spray, she trapped both groups of judges against the walls before jumping down with a thud. Lollipop quietly crawled under the table, hitting the back of Fox's knees causing him to fall on his knees. He happened to be too close to the table and frankly he was at the right angle that he smacked his forehead on the table. Taking the chance, Lolly jumped out, tackling Fox to the ground and straddled his side. She took out a handkerchief and held it over his mouth until he passed out. Once is body went limp, she stole his handcuffs, which were hidden under his jacket. She put one cuff onto Krystal, stole her cuffs and locked the other cuff to Panther's belt loop before tripping he and making the two fall. Grabbing the nearby trash can she picked it up and slung it over both Falco and Slippy, while Slippy is still sitting in his chair. She tripped peppy and cuffed him to the table's leg and grabbing his chair, smashing it over Leon's head. He instantly fell to the ground. With each that she silently attacked she put a rag over their mouth until they passed out just like Fox. After that there was three left. A simple pressure point to the two top dogs in the room. With another snap of her fingers the lights came back on.

Wolf stared in awe as he saw everyone on the ground. He didn't want to think about what she would have done to NUS if he hadn't stayed on board the Great Fox. Everyone is asleep by time the lights flicked back on. Lollipop is no where in sight.

"Turn around." She commanded. Wolf did just that. compared to Wolf she is much shorter than him by a foot or less.

"What?"

"Aw no kissy kissy huggy huggy?" She giggled.

"Why didn't you attack me? Just going to let them assume that I'm trying to help you or something?" A smile grew on her face as she traced his collar bone with her finger.

"I can't be nice to a fellow convict? Besides what if I can give you a whole lot more?" She said

"I'm listening." Wolf eyed her cautiously.

"Well I can pay for the bounty, I can get this dog collar off, give you your freedom, and I know a perfect place for you to hide." Just then Wolf pulled out his gun from out of the rim of his pants. It didn't need to be cocked, and he pointed it st her.

"And what if I refuse?" He asks nicely. He'll play her little game, for now.

"Then you won't have a dick anymore." Lolly looked up at him with crazed eyes and a wild smile. Wolf looked down to see a attachable bomb on his belt buckle. "One press of a button and bye-bye babies."

"Who's to say I won't shoot you with your back turned?" Lollipop stood on her tip toes, barely coming past his chin and whispered.

"It's remotely activated too. Have fun hun." She softly giggled. Instead of coming out the way she came she left out the chamber doors. With Wolf over thinking things, Lollipop made her way to the front desk where the secretary was slumped on the desk. Her file sat right next to her head. It is also loaded on the computer screen in front of her. Pressing a combination of buttons she deleted the online file and took the printed file. Going to the ladies room she flushed down each piece of paper and left when she finished.

Wolf finally decided to risk it and snatched the device from his belt, slinging it against the wall. It didn't do anything. It sat on the floor, no reaction.

"Damn it, it was a fake." Wolf shouted. The small bomb exploded. There wasn't much damage besides a burnt wall and floor where it sat. "Damn."

There wasn't anything he could really do, but instead of standing around he darted after her. She seemed to be too relaxed, meaning she will be walking at a regular pace. Turning down the hall to the front doors he saw nearly everyone asleep. Wolf ran out the glass doors and down the street. A few people looked at him confused at why he would be in such a hurry. He pushed past a few people, catching a glimpse of Lollipop's blonde hair sweeping in the wind. The sun reflecting its beauty. He reached out to grab her hair but was blocked by another crowd. _'Don't any of these people know who she is?'_ She had slipped through his fingers. He could continue to chase after her, though now that there's an even larger crowd forming, it would be near to impossible to find her now.

"You sir, look like a guy who was chasing a pretty lady. That pretty lady that just pass by, matter of fact." A man said. Wolf turned to his right and saw a purple octopus sitting behind a comic book stand. He wore a red T-shirt and a matching hat that had the store logo: "A World of Worlds".

"You saw her?" Wolf asked the guy.

"Long blonde hair? Looked kind like a fox or wolf? Shorts and a crop-top? Yeah. She's cute ain't she." his expression never changing. His laid back attitude is the type to have certain costumers keep coming back. "I don't know about you and I'm not some sort of love guru but I think you two would make a really cute couple. But that's just by the looks of it. Well you seem busy, so I'll let you get back to it. See ya around."

Wolf didn't have a chance to say a word, neither did he have a word _to_ say. The comic book guy's statement set him back a bit. It didn't mean anything to him. The guy was basing it off looks. Yet for some reason, the way the sun hit her hair, triggered a memory from o long ago. Her knew a lot of women with blonde hair but he couldn't remember any of them by name, nor did any of them had that effect on him. The image captivated him for a moment. Not only did that began to bug him, dejevu crept around the corner. He walked back to the private court room. He'll have to explain himself once everyone wakes up. He could lie and say he had been knocked out too, though there might be a slim chance that someone could have heard. Playing innocent sounded nice right about now.

It didn't take him long to get back to the court room, and it didn't take long until everyone started to wake up. The Commander and General woke up, then Peppy, Panther and Krystal. Wolf had to help them get out of the cuffs that Lollipop had put on them. Took the trash can off Falco and Slippy. Then not long after that Leon and Fox finally woke up. Looking around Wolf could tell that she simply used her surroundings to her advantage. Stuffing two into a can, using the lights, stealing their cuffs and using them on them, and a chair. There is a rag next to Fox. Grabbing it he set it on the table in front of Tompson.

"She's not easy to catch. And if it took you eight years, then it might take us just as long if not longer." Wolf spoke in a low volume. He grabbed Fox by the back of his collar, pulling him to a standing position as he slung an arm around his shoulder and began to drag him to the ship. Krystal helped Peppy stand and walk back to the ship. Leon dragged Slippy and Panther slung his arm around Falco and pulled him to the ship.

"Have one of your clean up crews help with them. We're going to go do our job." Leon said before exiting the door. It'll be a while before the three will officially wake up. For now they'll more than likely recuperate before heading anywhere. Lollipop may know a thing or two about people but that doesn't mean she knew every single move that they'll make. Or that's what Wolf hopes for.


	11. New Best Friend

It was another hot day in the state of Florida. The day hadn't been much different from any other Sunday. Summer had officially started yet she had to dress up every Sunday for church. The little girl didn't see the point in going to a place to watch someone talk. There was always too many old people that loved to pinch her chubby cheeks. But this Sunday had changed. The girls' father promised that if she didn't put up a fight or cry about putting on a dress and if she behaved all through church then they would go to the Orange Park Flea Market. A ten minute drive from where she lived.

She remembered what that morning was like. It had turned eight A.M. and they were all eating breakfast. Her step mom braided her hair down her back. She said that she looked adorable in her new dress. A simple blue cotton dress with short sleeves and her classic black dress shoes went perfect with it. The only thing that stood out were her hazel eyes that looked slightly brown to her step mother. The girl on the other hand never understood the concept and didn't bother to know why either. After she ate and got dressed, her and her parents sat ont the couch to watch the early morning news. Now that is what captivated her. The woman and man spoke briefly about all kinds of topics. From another school shoot to local weather to the anthropomorphic race being accepted in society. Words like that are what she called "fancy" since she was only in the first grade.

She wasn't a typical child. Smarter than most children her age, faster, and a bit more hyper. She's also a animal. The little girl is apart of the anthropomorphic race. Or what people like to call them "Furries", or "Fury". There were groups here and there all over the world that were discriminating against the newly discovered race. Even at school there were kids that would flick her ears, stomp on her tail and even stick gum in her hair or fur. On some days she would come home crying. Her father and step mother would go up to the school and not leave until something was done about it. Though the bulling only got worse when they found her completely alone. The girl wanted to some day help those people, to be a hero like the police officers were, and fire fighters too.

One day she'll prove to the world that she has what it takes to survive. For now though, she'll just enjoy a day at one of her favorite places in the world. For a kid her age, the world is only so big in so many ways.

Once the van came to a complete stop, she shot off her seat belt and opened the door. She attempted to climb out of her car seat but her dress kept getting caught. She was getting mad awful quick. Two big hands lifted her up and out of the vehicle. The pair of hands belonged to her father. One of very few humans that had fury children. To them and the people who are raising them, they're just kids with different needs.

Looking up at him, seeing the smile on his face made her smile. Smiling is just like the flue, anyone can catch it, she thought once. He set her down and closed the door before grabbing her hand. Her step mother grabbed a hold of her free hand and the walked to the pay booth together.

"Can I pay this time?" She asked her father.

"I don't see anything wrong with that." his gruff voice was soft. That told her he had been in a good mood and that is always a good thing in her book. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded up dollar and put it in her hand. "Don't lose this." The stand was only a short distance away. When they came up to the bald black man sitting behind the counter, she stood on her tip toes and stretched her her arm out to put her dollar on top.

"One ticket please." She politely asked the man, even if she couldn't see him.

"Well since you asked so nicely, here you go. One ticket for one little girl." He stood up and handed the girl her ticket. Her smiled widen as she told the man thanks and showed it to her parents. They smile and paid for their tickets and their son's ticket.

The boy was only three years younger than her. He didn't talk around her, or ever really. Though he did laugh and cry and respond to people whenever they'd ask a question. He reached his black little hands up, wanting to be picked up by his mom. She did pick him up and he laid his head on her shoulder, growing tired all of a sudden. The little girl on the other hand was fully fueled and ready to go. She handed her ticket to the old chinese lady standing on the other side.

For the next hour they had walked around, looking at all the different things. Dream catchers and wooden figures, kids toys, paintings and vases and jewelry, and there was one for cartoons. She loved to watch them. The fat man that sat behind the glass casing had black hair and small rectangular glasses. He told her about a character named Goku, and another one name Nami. She asked her father if she could get one. They seemed to have a debate about which one she should get. In the end she Goku. The man handed her father the boxed figure as he gave him the money, then gave the box to her.

"Thank you daddy." She said excitedly.

"Well I'm not going to be able to do that all the time okay?"

"Okay."

She then looked on the other side of her to find a variety of art supplies. A very large middle aged woman sat behind the three tables. There was differently shaped pencil sharpeners, cool looking pens, and some sketch books.

"Next weekend can I get something from here?"

"How about this. Daddy gets the expensive stuff you want and mommy will get you whatever from this stand. Sounds good?" Her voice was that of an average woman. Soft spoken yet firm.

"Yeah, that sounds just about right." He laughed at her expression and laughed even more as she insulted him.

"You are such a harasser. I swear it if I wasn't alive." she laughed. She looked down to see their little girl missing. "Where the hell did she go?" They looked around to spot her blue dress, and it was heading towards a large red barn in the middle of the market.  
The girl causally walked up to a boy sitting alone beside the barn. He looked sad so she decided to go introduce herself. She thought that maybe he just needed a friend. The closer she got to him to more she saw all the little details about him. The blotch of white wasn't fur, it was a wrap. That made more sense since she could see the blood seeping through the bandages. His left eye is what was covered. His left arm was casted and in a sling.

"Hi there." she said softly. He didn't even look up. How rude, she thought to herself. "Are you okay?" Nothing. "Wanna be friends?" She asked. Still nothing. A uniformed man came over to her.

"Hey kid, where's your parents?" He asked nicely. For a moment there she thought she was in trouble.

"Over there." she pointed to the art table straight across the grass. "I just wanted to see if he wanted to be friends. He looked like he could use one."

"That's nice of you sweetheart but I'm going to send you back to your mom and dad okay? Today's just not a good day right now."

"Okay."

"Why don't you come back next week and see how things are going then okay?"

"Okay. Bye-bye." She said a lot chipper then the last one. She waved goodbye to the boy sitting by himself. He didn't acknowledge her at all, though that didn't mean he didn't hear what she said. The boy simply continued to stare at the un moving Earth beneath him. This is his temporary home. He hopes she does come back next week. He could use some company right about now. From the corner of his eye he could make out that she kept looking behind her to see if he was looking after her just yet. He wasn't. Probably never will either. For now, he just wished for the day to be over with.


	12. Going Out

After the attack from Lollipop and everyone had been noted that they are okay, Wolf and his team split up for a few days. Leon wasn't going to look for anything important but he will keep an eye out for anything that he comes across. There is a guy that Panther knows that lives on the outskirts of the Meteo Astroid belt. He'll pay him a visit to see what he can gather for him. For Wolf, there wasn't a objective of him leaving, just that he felt the need to get some fresh air. Before he had left, Wolf and Fox spoke privately about what occurred.

"Wolf." Fox called out to him.

"Yeah?"

"I needed to speak with you for a moment."

"Look I already filed my report, even when I went after her-"

"What? No- well yes, but not about you filing the report." Fox said. "You said she walked out the front right?"

"Yeah. When I got to the front of the building everyone was knocked out. I ran outside to catch up with her but I got tangled in a large crowd, loosing her in the process." Wolf explained.

"Yeah, I read that but she seemed to have used the vents to enter so why go through the front door to leave?" Fox asked. Wolf paused for a moment and thought about what Fox said. He is right to be confused.

"What would be the point in making everyone pass out if you're going through a back entrance?" Fox repeated, rephrasing the question.

"Well I would assume that she knew she couldn't get back up to the vent in time just in case her plans failed. Using the front door would be her only other option." Wolf said. He paused every few words, thinking of what to say as he said it.

"I suppose that makes sense." Fox tugged at the collar, forgetting about the spikes that stabbed him in the neck in order to stay in place. This didn't go unnoticed by Wolf.

"You're an idiot, ya' know." Wolf said. Wolf took off the flexible armor before stuffing it into his duffle bag. His black long sleeve appeared to swallow him.

"At least now I know why you were being a little too nice. I wasn't the only one who noticed either." before Wolf could ask who, Fox answered before he could. "Panther and Leon had a sneaky suspension about it too. Krystal brought it up before the two of us were picked up and the two happened to say something about it. When she had the chance she mentioned it to me." Fox explained.

Sighing to himself, he threw the duffle bag into the storage part of his Arwing. Wolf climbed into the cockpit without another word.

"You know we _are_ in this together. At least for now we are. Until this case is over with, whether you like it or not, we're teammates. I've already talked to General Peppers about the collars but he can't do anything about it and the Grand jury refuse to say otherwise. That's including me. If it helps, I do trust you Wolf. Just try to hold out, okay?"

"You should really be a speech motivator rather then a pilot. I appreciate the gesture pup but that's not going to change the way that they see me. Too late for me. I'll be gone for a few days if not more. Clear my head and get a few things, maybe stop by someone I know to get some help or more information. I probably won't be anywhere near Panther or Leon."

"Alright. See you when you get back. Remember-"

"To check in. Of course mother."

"Very funny." Fox chuckled. He patted the nose of the Arwing and backed up a few feet, waving to Wolf. The hatch opened, Wolf turned on his Arwing, ready to fly out of there. After a few seconds of watching him leave, Fox went back to his team.

Fox just might be the only who does trust Wolf with his life. Oddly enough, it felt like that warm fuzzy feeling when you know someone's always got your back. Wolf isn't use to having someone he barely knows trust him so much.

Wolf and Fox only know each other as neutral enemies. They know each other just about as much as two different breeds of cats. All Wolf knows about Fox is that he lead a life that his father lead. He once met his father. James McCloud once told him to keep his head held high and let no one ever put him down because he was going to do things his own way. That simple phrase has stuck with him to this day and that is what keeps him going. That's beside the point. Here and now, Wolf needs to figure out this for himself then report back to Fox and see what he thinks since he can't make a move until he gives him the word.

At the hideout, everything seemed normal. The bar was just as loud as any other time. Walking through the front entrance he was met by a short, grey tabby cat. Female at that. He didn't recognize her. Then again he didn't know most of the people here. She has sky blue hair wrapped up in a bun with straight cut bangs along her forehead. Her grey fur wasn't matted, like most here, and her bright green eyes seemed to pop out from the blue and grey surrounding her face. Her dark grey markings crawling down her arms. Her shirt was a bold yellow crop top that rest just below her belly button. Long black pants and tan combat boots adorned her lower section of her body. He noticed her tail is abnormally fluffy for a cat. At the tip of her tail was wrapped with medical tape.

"Hey sweet heart. The names Candy." Candy brought up her hand to shake with Wolf's. Her nails are filed sharply like a knife and her lower arms cover with a fingerless glove that reached her elbow.

"Wolf. Wolf O'Donnell." He took her hand, feeling the smoothness of her fur.

"O'Donnell? As in 'Lord O'Donnell?" She asked.

"You'd be right."

"Why ain't this an honor." She stated. Her smiling widening. "I probably shouldn't keep you, you might be very busy right now." Her thick Avalin accent was no joke.

"It's okay." he says. "Are you Avalinnen by any chance?"

"I am. Kinda knew to this area here. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find Corneria do you? I have to get there for family reasons." At this point Wolf couldn't tell if she was lying or not. Not only was her appearance off but her choker seemed a little odd too. Or maybe it was just him?

"I can tell. How about we have a drink or two before you leave? My treat." His gazed softened as he offered his hand out to her. A blush crept across her face rather quickly.

After the attack from Lollipop and everyone had been noted that they are okay, Wolf and his team split up for a few days. Leon wasn't going to look for anything important but he will keep an eye out for anything that he comes across. There is a guy that Panther knows that lives on the outskirts of the Meteo Astroid belt. He'll pay him a visit to see what he can gather for him. For Wolf, there wasn't a objective of him leaving, just that he felt the need to get some fresh air. Before he had left, Wolf and Fox spoke privately about what occurred.

"Wolf." Fox called out to him.

"Yeah?"

"I needed to speak with you for a moment."

"Look I already filed my report, even when I went after her-"

"What? No- well yes, but not about you filing the report." Fox said. "You said she walked out the front right?"

"Yeah. When I got to the front of the building everyone was knocked out. I ran outside to catch up with her but I got tangled in a large crowd, loosing her in the process." Wolf explained.

"Yeah, I read that but she seemed to have used the vents to enter so why go through the front door to leave?" Fox asked. Wolf paused for a moment and thought about what Fox said. He is right to be confused.

"What would be the point in making everyone pass out if you're going through a back entrance?" Fox repeated, rephrasing the question.

"Well I would assume that she knew she couldn't get back up to the vent in time just in case her plans failed. Using the front door would be her only other option." Wolf said. He paused every few words, thinking of what to say as he said it.

"I suppose that makes sense." Fox tugged at the collar, forgetting about the spikes that stabbed him in the neck in order to stay in place. This didn't go unnoticed by Wolf.

"You're an idiot, ya' know." Wolf said. Wolf took off the flexible armor before stuffing it into his duffle bag. His black long sleeve appeared to swallow him.

"At least now I know why you were being a little too nice. I wasn't the only one who noticed either." before Wolf could ask who, Fox answered before he could. "Panther and Leon had a sneaky suspension about it too. Krystal brought it up before the two of us were picked up and the two happened to say something about it. When she had the chance she mentioned it to me." Fox explained.

Sighing to himself, he threw the duffle bag into the storage part of his Arwing. Wolf climbed into the cockpit without another word.

"You know we _are_ in this together. At least for now we are. Until this case is over with, whether you like it or not, we're teammates. I've already talked to General Peppers about the collars but he can't do anything about it and the Grand jury refuse to say otherwise. That's including me. If it helps, I do trust you Wolf. Just try to hold out, okay?"

"You should really be a speech motivator rather then a pilot. I appreciate the gesture pup but that's not going to change the way that they see me. Too late for me. I'll be gone for a few days if not more. Clear my head and get a few things, maybe stop by someone I know to get some help or more information. I probably won't be anywhere near Panther or Leon."

"Alright. See you when you get back. Remember-"

"To check in. Of course mother."

"Very funny." Fox chuckled. He patted the nose of the Arwing and backed up a few feet, waving to Wolf. The hatch opened, Wolf turned on his Arwing, ready to fly out of there. After a few seconds of watching him leave, Fox went back to his team.

Fox just might be the only who does trust Wolf with his life. Oddly enough, it felt like that warm fuzzy feeling when you know someone's always got your back. Wolf isn't use to having someone he barely knows trust him so much.

Wolf and Fox only know each other as neutral enemies. They know each other just about as much as two different breeds of cats. All Wolf knows about Fox is that he lead a life that his father lead. He once met his father. James McCloud once told him to keep his head held high and let no one ever put him down because he was going to do things his own way. That simple phrase has stuck with him to this day and that is what keeps him going. That's beside the point. Here and now, Wolf needs to figure out this for himself then report back to Fox and see what he thinks since he can't make a move until he gives him the word.

At the hideout, everything seemed normal. The bar was just as loud as any other time. Walking through the front entrance he was met by a short, grey tabby cat. Female at that. He didn't recognize her. Then again he didn't know most of the people here. She has sky blue hair wrapped up in a bun with straight cut bangs along her forehead. Her grey fur wasn't matted, like most here, and her bright green eyes seemed to pop out from the blue and grey surrounding her face. Her dark grey markings crawling down her arms. Her shirt was a bold yellow crop top that rest just below her belly button. Long black pants and tan combat boots adorned her lower section of her body. He noticed her tail is abnormally fluffy for a cat. At the tip of her tail was wrapped with medical tape.

"Hey sweet heart. The names Candy." Candy brought up her hand to shake with Wolf's. Her nails are filed sharply like a knife and her lower arms cover with a fingerless glove that reached her elbow.

"Wolf. Wolf O'Donnell." He took her hand, feeling the smoothness of her fur.

"O'Donnell? As in 'Lord O'Donnell?" She asked.

"You'd be right."

"Why ain't this an honor." She stated. Her smiling widening. "I probably shouldn't keep you, you might be very busy right now." Her thick Avalin accent was no joke.

"It's okay." he says. "Are you Avalinnen by any chance?"

"I am. Kinda knew to this area here. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find Corneria do you? I have to get there for family reasons." At this point Wolf couldn't tell if she was lying or not. Not only was her appearance off but her choker seemed a little odd too. Or maybe it was just him?

"I can tell. How about we have a drink or two before you leave? My treat." His gazed softened as he offered his hand out to her. A blush crept across her face rather quickly.

"I don't know. I'm not a big drinker if ya' know what I mean." She slouched back a little bit, appearing to be intimidated.

"Aw, you're breaking my heart darling. A pretty lady like yourself needs to relax for a little bit when given the chance. It'll only be for a little bit, I promise I won't keep you long." He continued. Whoever she really was wasn't dishing out like he as expecting her to.

"A few. After that I really must be going." She accepted his hand. He locked arms with her as they walked past the bar's counter and into the back hallway. Along the way to his office they chatted.

"I wouldn't say you're a bad guy. I mean yes you are against the law sure, but that's only because you're doing what you need to do."

"And that would be?"

"Finding a way to survive this thing we call life."

"That's some pretty deep stuff there. You're a down to the dirt kind of person aren't ya?" Wolf asked.

"I suppose. I only call it like I see it. I've seen and been through some weird and messed up stuff since I was a kid."

Wolf had to admit he might have been wrong about this girl. Candy seemed so sincere about everything. He did ask about her home world and everything checked out thus far. Candy showed him that there is no reason to doubt her, even though she knew he was doubting her from the beginning. They walked into his office were two wine glasses and a bottle of fine wine sat on his desk. He poured her a glass and himself one. They continued their conversation, talking about the jobs they've had to take, avoided topics they didn't want to touch for personal reasons.

"So you're a mercenary too?" He asked.

"No-well..." Candy hummed the thought for a moment before answering. "I did a few jobs as one yes, but I hated it. I wouldn't kill anyone who didn't deserve it and there were so many rare cases in that factor." She took a sip of her drink and smiled. Her pink lips hypnotizing him.

"That's where we're different." he said, swirling his drink. "I do whatever it is for money. That doesn't include sex either." They bother laughed.

"Well you seemed to lived a very rough life by just looking at where you're at now." Candy walked a bit closer to Wolf. He leaned against the front of the desk as he faced the door. She leaned onto his shoulder and resting her head there. Wolf slipped arm around her waist.

"Hey, gotta make do with what you have." The smug grin on his face grew.

"That makes me think of that woman...what was her name again?"

"Lollipop?"

"Yeah that's it. I heard she doesn't take crap from no one." Candy's green eyes fix themselves on Wolf's hair. Gently she played with it as she spoke. Her voice resonating a soft tone as it filled his ears.

"I have to say I admire her. She's showing everyone, whether it be people like you and me to the very people who run our lives. Though I don't think she wants to stop any time soon. Didn't she come from some asylum or something?"

"Yeah she did. Full on crazy, attacking anyone in her way. She's a slippery one she is and I'd have to agree with you, Candy. I admire her too. Though we are quite similar. She...she's pretty but insane." He said.

"So you have a thing for blondes?" She giggled when he slightly move his arm to rest his hand on her hip.

"I guess I do. They seem to have a bit more fun than other girls. Though I'd have to say that it all depends on the girl." He chuckled. The wine finally settling in his system. To him, her words seemed more enchanting, her body more attractive, and her eyes more alluring.

Candy turned to face Wolf, throwing one leg over his crossed legs in a straddle position. They were practically hip-to-hip. Setting both their drinks down, Candy put her arms around Wolf's neck. He sat up straighter. Up to this point of the evening, their talk had been fun. Jumping from topic to topic and just plainly speaking their minds. Wolf felt a relief after all that. It made him feel better and maybe he made a new friend in the end of all this. His heart fluttered as she pressed herself against him. Wolf couldn't remember the last time he felt so light like this. Her eyes closed as did his. The closer they came and he felt he breath on his, wrapping his arms around her slinder frame. Then their lips met. Taking it slow at first, but Candy wanted more and soon the two began a battle for dominance. Their tongues dancing with one another as he won and began to explore her mouth.

Moans slipped out here and there from the few minutes they began their make-out session. The night continued on because it was still young. The Candy was amazing. It wasn't until a little afterward that, that was the last thing he remembered...


	13. Lollipop is Candy

Moans slipped out here and there from the few minutes they began their make-out session. The night continued on because it was still young and her plan has yet to fail. She wrapped an arm around Wolf's neck as if to pull him closer. Instead she out a syringe and struck him with it, injecting him with a sleep serum. After a couple of minutes it worked. Soon his arm fell from around her waist and he slumped against the desk. A wicked smiled spread across her lips.

Walking around the desk, she took the wig off. Letting loose her long blonde hair, she gazed around the desk, looking for something. Her green eyes stopped at her reflection in a glass of a picture frame. Her green eyes stood out against the grey fur. An identity that wasn't her own. Someone she wasn't. Lollipop darted her eyes away from it. She hated looking at herself in any reflective surface that she can see.

Lollipop bent down to open a drawer but it was locked. That didn't matter since she can just pick the lock. Since it wasn't a regular doorknob type of lock, it will take a little longer for her to pick it then usual. Once she had it opened she took the files from within it. If only that had been the right drawer. Lollipop picked and checked the other three, finding that the last drawer is the one with her case file in it.

She got up and sat next to Wolf whom fell over, using her lap as a pillow. It didn't bother her though she did blush in response. Ignoring it, she opened her file. Within this particular file is Wolf's information about her. His thoughts and opinions, and even his past and current reports about each incident that he is involved in. Softly, to herself, she read aloud.

"Entry date. From recently I see." she commented. "Though the culprit has gotten away again, my thoughts on her strategy is simple. Lollipop fights within the moment. Never planning anything out. This makes her dangerous because she is unpredictable as is. My personal opinion, though I know it will not be noted later, is that we have to find what hits to home. What happened the day she was arrested. That's where we'll find our answer."

Looking at the slumbering wolf, her gaze soften. Shaking her head as the voices rang in her ears.

 _They won't believe you._

"No they won't."

 _Back to the looney bin._

"No."

 _Make them suffer._

"That's not fair to them though."

 _They hate you._

"And? Every one already does."

 _They'll kill you._

"I know."

 _Don't forget._

"I can never."

 _The doctor._

"The doctor...yes." Lollipop bantered back and forth with the voices. They are right. The Cornerian government has already made her an enemy to everyone. They claimed her as a "Threat" and an "Danger" to everyone around her. That as soon as the chance appears that she needs to be arrested and locke away like she had been.

Her hate for governments have grown since she hit seventeen-year-old. They Star Wolf and Star Fox crews are lairs just like the people they're working for.

"And to think I actually thought you were cool." Lollipop said to herself. She got up, letting Wolf fall to the floor. She grabbed Wolf and began to drag him out of the room. When she got to the door she saw the white orbs watching her. She glared at the creature and it disappeared. Lolly dragged Wolf all the way down the hall. She knew his room is located in the back and up a level but she forgot which hall it's on.

She finally found his room after walking around the halls for a few minutes. The doors to his room slid open and she trotted in, dragging him along with her. Lollipop slung him on his bed as best as she could. He may be slim looking but to her he was like lifting a two-hundred pound weight.

"You're heavier than you look." She huffed.

The serum is still in effect. Wolf is still out like a light. He just needs to stay like that for a while longer. Looking around the room she had noticed a chalk board off to the side, next to his desktop. It had a few things written on it such as dates, locations, and a few specific things. She read over the list that is written down the right side of the board.

It read:

Lollipop-female wolf

eight years- running

date arrested- ?

date escaped- ?

Places infiltrated- seven

Possessions stolen- two files

Target- ?

Even though it was much, she can tell that he is trying. He doesn't have a whole lot of facts about her or what she's doing. Wolf knows a thing or two about being a criminal. There must be some sympathy for her. Right?

Just to mess with him and his friends, and to see if he'll even notice, she took the chalk in her hand and wrote on the board. She replaced the question marks on "Date Arrested" and "Date Escaped" with the years "Twenty-eighteen" and "Twenty-nineteen", in that order. Then she wrote "Four-One-Zero-Two" in the bottom left corner on the backside of the board. Setting the chalk down and walked over to Wolf. She watched as his chest raised and fell. She pet his cheek before kissing his forehead. That being the last thing she does before leaving back to his office and retrieving the blue wig. Once she did that, she slipped through the crowd and out the front door. Most of everyone is asleep or gone home.

Pinching the weak points in the guards' necks, she took out her can of spray paint and began to write her message on the wall. Hopefully he'll get it, shouldn't be hard to miss it. Lollipop even signed it for them to make it clear. The night is soon turning into day. She doesn't know how long she had been in there but she knows it's time for her to go.


	14. Another Day

The next day Wolf woke up with the light peering through the cracks of the curtains in his room, giving it a orange hue. He was still tired and didn't want to get up. His head is starting to pound against his skull. Grudgingly he got out of bed and went in the bathroom to shower.

After he showered he began to dress himself. Wolf wore a dark blue, sleeveless top with leather pants. His purple crystal hanging down by a thick piece of thread. A day hasn't gone by that he hasn't worn it. Usually when people ask him where he got it from he would tell them that it wasn't any of their business. Truthfully, it's a precious gift from a precious childhood friend. He hasn't seen them in over a decade now that he thought about it. He missed her squeals whenever she'd laugh. No matter how depressed he was at the time, she made it her goal to cheer him before she left. He smiled at the fond memory.

Wolf exited his room, now fully dressed. He felt refreshed after his shower. He walked down the hall, hands in his pockets. His boots were the only sounds that echoed throughout the halls a the moment. Soon an urgent thumping can be heard heading toward Wolf. looking up he saw one of his loyal followers come rushing down the hall. _'This better be good'_.

"Lord O'Donnell!" A warthog called out as he ran down the halls of the abandoned space station. An urgent matter has occurred that requires Wolf's attention. Wolf is walking down that same hallway, towards to heavy breathing pig.

"What?" Even in his state of urgency, the man could tell that Wolf is already in a bad mood.

"Well, there's a message for you-"

"Okay." He looked the warthog up and down for the letter or note. Though there isn't anything in his hands.

"It's not something that I could take with me. Unless you want the front wall demolished."

"Show me." He commanded. The pig did just that. Continuing down the hall and through the bar to the front door. A crowd had already gathered in front to read the message too. Walking out the front door, adding twenty feet more, Wolf turned around. His eye slightly widen. The message is written across the metal wall in a dripping black substance. It was even signed by Lollipop at the bottom. Shaking his head, he pulled out his gun. Aiming it at the sky, shooting off a round.

"Everyone get their ass inside!" Wolf shouted to the growing crowd. The gun shot was enough to have a few of them run back inside the building. Flipping out his hologram communicator, he dialed the Great Fox code.

"Yeah?" Fox and Peppy were seen on the other side.

"Guess who paid me a visit." Wolf switched the camera so that it is facing the writing.

"It's only been three days..." Peppy muttered to Fox.

"That only means she's active. Which is good in a way. Take a picture of it and send it my way. You know what to do with your team. Fox over and out." The hologram turned off.

Wolf sent a message out along with the image of the message to Panther and Leon that way they can keep a look out for her in their general area of interest. Sighing to himself and ordered a few of his people to get the wall cleaned. He didn't have time to be playing her little games. He went back inside and decided to head to his bedroom. He decided that he could use a nap right about now. His headache came back after he let out a round.

Coming up to the door as it opened, a large black blotch shot out, slamming him against the wall. Wolf hit the wall hard enough to pass out. The creature that attacked him dragged him in by his feet. Two hours later he woke up. His head began to pound with a headache once again. Looking around the dark room, letting his eye dilate and adjust to the darkness of the room, he saw it. Or rather, _her_. Lollipop is standing at the end of his bed. She bared no emotion on her face. Her arms laid at her side. Her whole body seemed motionless as she stood there. His heart raced at the thought of her acting out against him. But why just him and not any of the others? The lights flickered on and like that she's gone. Wolf could feel his heart racing, pounding against his ribcage. His whole body began to shake a little. He didn't understand what just happened and didn't want to go back to bed either. Slowly he got up and walked over to the door. He took one more look at the room, noticing the word "wrong" scratched into the metal surface of the wall above his bed. He took the chance to run out of there once he got a picture of it.

For the night he'll be spending it in his office. That seemed to be the safest place so far. Wolf will have to remind himself to send Fox the image in the morning. He sat in his chair, thinking. Still shaken up about today's events will make it hard to fall back asleep. Unknown to Wolf is that a pair of white eyes watched him from the far corner of the room. Slowly it sank back into the darkness. _'Whatever it was, was gone for now.'_ Wolf told himself as his eyes bean to droop.

The next thing he knows is that someone is trying to wake him up. He grunted and sat up. Bright blue eyes met his purple one. It's Krystal.

"Krystal? How'd you get in here?"

"Panther brought us back here. Fox wanted to go over a few things with you." She said.

Sitting up he felt a blanket fall back. Ignoring the blanket and looked around the room. He saw everone here. Fox walked up to him and began to talk.

"I would have assumed you had a bedroom here or something." Fox said.

"I do." Wolf scooted his chair back and stretched out his limbs a little bit in an attempt to help wake himself up some. "Didn't have a swell night. Lollipop appeared in my room."

"She was here?" This sparked everyone's interest.

"Wolf you dirty dog." Leon teased.

"Shut it. It wasn't like that." he warned Leon. He began to explain himself. "After I spoke with you, I went back to my room. The second the door even opened, I get slammed against the wall. I wake up sometime later to find myself on my bed and Lollipop standing at the end of it."

"She just stood there?" Slippy asked.

"Yeah. Kept her head down, nothing in her hands, and her arms limp against her sides. The lights came on and like a ghost, she vanished. " He said.

"That's most definitely strange." Fox picked his words carefully. "It isn't in her profile to attack one, or one at a time." He set his chin on his fist, in thought.

"I doubt a woman of her size could sling _him_ into a wall." Said Krystal.

"She does make a point." Slippy agreed.

"Not only that but the word 'wrong' was scratched into the wall." Wolf handed Fox the camera with the image on it. "I don't understand how I didn't wake up to that."

"It gives me shivers just thinking about it." Panther chimed in.

"What do you mean?" Asks Krystal.

"All the walls here are pure metal. The only thing that I think would be made out of wood, would be located in the bar area." Panther noted.

"So you slept in here because you got spooked?" Fox asked Wolf.

"Yeah, pretty much." He admitted.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that." Leon said. Out of all his days of being along side Wolf, he never thought that Wolf would ever admit if something scared him. _'It must have really freaked him out.'_

"Well besides my haunted room, I think I know where Lolly is going to be."

"That's not in her profile either." Fox said. "But what do you mean you might know where she'll be at next?"

"The phrase she put on the front wall. 'In a world going under, to survive you must learn to plunder'. Sound like she's going to that dead beat planet, Argon."

"Then we need to get going."

"Well, I don't know if you've ever been there or not but it's not too found of any "heroes" such as yourself. If you were to go there all suited up, then you're wrong." Wolf got up and walked around to the front of his desk. "You think this place, full of criminals, hated you. Then you won't last a day on Argon. That planet is full of nothing but pirates, murders, thieves, and a whole lot more where that came from. It's a planet that the Lylat government is trying to over rule."

"That's stupid." Falco said. "Now if they were even more stupid than that and blow the planet up then those criminals would just scatter everywhere and wreck havoc."

"The bird has a point." Says Leon.

"Fine. What do you suppose we do?"

"If my team and I go there, we won't have so much of a problem as you guys would. We'd have to split up and do what we do best. Plus the people know us for our reputation and won't mess with us."

"I just have to say that I find it strange that she went after you Wolf." Panther said. All the attention switched over to the purple hued panther now. "She obviously wants you to find her."

"But why on that planet? " Krystal asked curiously.

"Because she knew that the people there hate the Star Fox team. And with little to no fire power and only a two-man team, she knew she can easily get away with whatever it is that she's aiming for." Panther explained.

"I'll have Commander Tompson put his men into their fighter jets and such, and make sure he has his men surround the space above the planet to make sure she doesn't slip away so easily this time." Fox says.

"If you all don't mind. Id' like to add on something to what Panther said." Leon said. A small remote in his hands.

"I don't like where this is going..." Wolf said to himself. A screen rolled down one wall and the camera feed shown on the blank canvas. The feed was the current room that they're in except it only being Wolf and Candy in the room. The two seemed to talk and laugh for a while before they started kissing. No one thought much of it until she took out something and stuck it in him. A few minutes later it was revealed that it was Lollipop the whole time. Wolf's face looked as if it were on fire.

"So you made out with Lollipop." Says Fox.

"I hate you Leon."

"Feeling the love." He chuckled.

"Tompson's going to be up my ass for this." Wolf grumbled.

"Well at least we can say she wore a disguise-" Fox tried to defend.

"I was also drunk."

"We'll deal with that later. Right now we all need to be going right now." Krystal stirred them back on track. With that said and done, they all left for the Great Fox. There they'll be noted on the details of the plan.


	15. A Few More Nights

Argon is a filthy planet made up of nothing but toxic fumes and rusted metal. Every building in sight has busted windows, graffiti, and gang members hanging outside of it. In nearly every alleyway that Leon passed by has a few hoboes in them. He'd seen a kid or two running, though he personally thought the older one is just trying to chase down the small one to beat him up. He brushed it aside and walked further down the street. One building has smoke coming from it and the ally he just passed had a camp fire going. Not a lot of people come outside. The grass is dead every where you look, the playgrounds are run-down, and Leon would be surprised if there _was_ a open convenient store on this planet.

Slippy had already read up on the history of Argon and presented the basic facts to everyone. This planet was once a peaceful place until pirates made it their domain. If it wasn't for the Star Fox team then the people who were trapped on the planet would have died. Back then the Star Fox team didn't include Fox, but rather his father. Fox hadn't been born yet from how long ago this took place. The planet then fell into turmoil. Soon every criminal known to the galaxy came here to call it home.

Main rules for Argon. One, nobody messes with anyone without reason. Though that's unless you have something they want. Two, stick to what you know best. Never get caught in the middle of anyone's business around here. Finally, three, if you're there for a short time then get your business down as swiftly and as quickly as possible. Over all rule, don't go finding trouble.

Argon is also known for it's largest illegal business marketing in the entire Lylat galaxy and the Jovian galaxy. Drugs, sex trafficking, gambling, private fighting arenas, and smuggling all takes place here. Leon's caught a few cops here back a few years ago. He did them a favor and told them to leave if they wanted to live. At least one of them listened.

All three had been dropped off in different districts. Wolf is in the gang district, where all gang members hang out. Panther's in the drug and sex traffic district while Leon's in the business district where gamblers and smuggling takes place. Each district is specifically picked by their creditability. Right now Leon has been walking all over his district and hadn't found a clue as to wear Lollipop is. He turned his com-link on and spoke to the Great Fox.

"Nothing yet. I've walked all over town over here. She's not in my part of Argon."

"Noted. Head towards Panther's location, due North West." NUS replied.

Panther on the other hand had been offered six different girls, all of which he bought. Walking with them, he held their leashes as he made his way to the pier. The murky water looked as if it could kill someone. He called in and Krystal responded.

"Send down a carrier and fast before someone sees."

"It's on its way. May I ask why?" Krystal asked.

"Sex trafficking. Used wired money to buy six girls. Least I could do while I'm here."

One of the girls tried to run away. She backed up to the back of the group to make a run for it. Though as soon as she took off Panther flicked on her collar. The collar is designed similarly to Fox and Wolf's collar. The only difference is that the women's collar gives a controlled shock if they misbehaved. That include biting, disobeying, and attempting to run away.

"Look ladies, you probably don't get it but I'm here to help. Now my friends are sending down a space craft that will send you back to the ship. There they will transport you to your home worlds'. Be grateful that this miracle has happened." Panther watched as the girls rejoiced quietly to not draw attention to themselves.

The space carrier hovered above the water, extending a walk way to enter the craft. The door opened revealing Slippy. Quickly they ushered the girls in. Slippy soothed them as the entered. Panther took off each collar around each girl's neck. They will come in handy later for the police force that is located two planets down from this one. Slippy closed the hatch and the ship flew back up to the Great Fox where Krystal, Fox, and Peppy will be waiting for them.

Panther turned around to see Leon making his way towards him with a smirk on his face.

"Nice." Leon gave him a thumbs up.

Then he heard Wolf say "Good man." through the com-link. Panther felt proud of himself. But what the other didn't know is that before Wolf hired Panther to replace Pigma, he had seen many of these girls being sold off repeatedly. He specifically remembered this one woman whom been used and beaten so much that she collapsed to the floor and eventually died. Nobody here cares if someone's hurt or in need of help. It's everyone for themselves out here. More times then not they'd put you out of your misery rather than help keep you alive.

Panther met up with Leon and began to discuss what he's seen thus far, if anything useful.

"Nothing from what I can tell."

"That's no good."

"What about you? Did you find anything yet?" Leon asked Panther.

"I found out that she has been spotted in the area. The guy told me that she ran past the smoke shop on South Hound, and made her way towards Wolf's area. I think he said that she had something in her hands."

"Hey Wolf." Leon drew Wolf's attention through the com-links. "Do you still want us to scout over here or head your way?"

"Keep scouting as you head this way. It'll help. Besides, she's wanting me to follow her, right?"

Leon and Panther nodded to each other before making a run towards Wolf location, viva GPS.

The dark streets and even dark allies are giving Wolf the creeps. Not a soul in sight. _Maybe there is if it weren't so damn dark._ He walked a few feet more, carefully listening to any little sound. His ear flicked up as he heard crumbling of rock nearby. Though it didn't sound like it's on the ground. Wolf looked up, searching for the culprit. And there, stood Lollipop. Her face bore a plain expression.

Wolf watched as Lollipop backed off the each of the roof of a building. Wolf looked for an entrance and found a crumbled doorway. There is a few slabs of boards in the way that he can just step over.

The inside of the building looked as if it had been set on fire. Everywhere he looked the walls, floors, even windows and stairs are scorched. Burnt to a black crisp. He's uncertain about climbing up the stairs. He was right not to too. Just by looking at the broken stair case it crumbled, leaving no way up to the next floor. Wolf walked towards the right where there's just a single door. He assumed it's a closet but saw that there was a letter carved into the burnt door. An untrained eye wouldn't have noticed it. The letter was an capitalized "E". Before turning the door knob, he took a picture with the flash on, then entered.

Behind the singed door was a hallway. Or at least that what it appeared to be. The pitch black didn't help define where the wall started or where it stopped at as he walked down the narrow corridor. Feeling the wall as he continued, soon Wolf came to a stop. There is another door. At this rate he felt as if he is going to have a heart attack. Manning up, he opened the door. A staircase lead downward to another place. A light bounced off the walls, showing the steps that lead around a curved wall. He stepped down as fast and as carefully as he could. The flight is long and descended further than he expected. The air became colder the further he went. His steps echoed off the stone and through the air.

The last step lead into an underground city. Concrete walk ways, building, and pillars. Lanterns were hung up to light up the area with a dim glow. He scanned the area around him, a ten foot radius. Nothing was picked up by the scanner. His scanner and anything electronic eventually stopped working as he came to a long passage way. The whole thing is littered with makeshift tents and boxes of stuff that belong to whomever put it there.

Not a sound rang through the place. _If this is a city then where are all the people?_ Wolf looked into each tent as he passed by them. It's too dark for him to make out anything. An even brighter light is shining at the end of the tunnel. He jogged towards it in hopes of finding Lollipop. Though it only lead to a breeze way. It's placed just above the subway tunnel. On the other side of it was yet another door. He walked across without hesitation as a subway car passed by underneath him. The wind blowing over his ears, pushing them over slightly. The door, as were the other two, is unlocked. He went through it and it lead him to a room. A blank brick room. The second he looked forward he saw Lollipop before she started running up another flight of stairs.

"Hey!" Wolf shouted. That didn't stop her. He chased after her, constantly looking up to see her running up the steel steps.

"Catch me if you can wolfie!" She shouted from above. There is a door that appear to lead to the roof. Lollipop opened it and ran through it, leaving it open. Wolf is for certain now that she does want him to follow her.

Reaching the door and bursting through it, he saw her standing on the ledge facing the door. The wind had picked up, blowing her long locks towards her right. Her bangs did the same, giving him a chance to fully see her face, though the longest stand of hair that hung in front along with the rest of her bangs, bounced around as the wind blew.

"Why did you want me to follow you?" Wolf asked her, drawing his blister.

"No need for that sweetheart. I merely want to talk." She said.

"Really? Way up here where the wind is howling above our voices?"

"How else can I get you to listen carefully? I mean any other time you and your little friends just wanna arrest me."

"True." he agreed. "What are you wanting to talk about?"

"I wanna talk about us. I mean come on, do you really want to work with those bozos?"

"I have no choice. Besides, I'll be doing the world a favor." He said.

"Ha, that's funny. Since when has the world did you anything that was in your good graces? When was the last time you ever got the chance to be truly happy? What happened to fair trails and the goodness in the justice system?" her questions were rhetorical. "Anyway, I know you can't get out of it. I've worn those collars before. One press of that button that the collar is wired to and you're dead." Lolly explained. She dragged her nail across her neck, indirectly telling him he'll be decapitated.

"You worn one? How? You stayed in your room most of the time."

"It was used as a correction behavior method. Though they mainly used the shocker one on me. Really rattled my brain." Lollipop shook her head side to side to to represent what she's saying. She stepped down from the ledge and took a few steps closer to him. Swaying her hips as she walked.

"Listen, I know what you're going through. I know you're not going to trust anyone, even me but you gotta listen when I tell you this. If you don't give up now then you're going to die." Wolf said.

"I'm not stupid. I may be blonde but that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on. So let me ask you. Did you know that they plan to give me the death sentence?"

Wolf seemed baffled at first. It's been eight years now and they haven't caught her once but they've already determined her punishment without a fair trail? General Peppers wouldn't let this happen. He and Fox are alike in that factor. Even if she is the most wanted criminal, ranking number three of the top ten, they would have still made a fair trail. Regardless if everything automatically pointed to her.

"No I didn't."

"That's what I thought." she crossed her arm tightly, chilled by the air. "I get that you're trying to save your own ass but so am I. I'm trying to finish something that started years ago. I'm not going to stop until it's finished."

"What is it? Maybe I can help. But you gotta come with me."

"Nice try. I would rather die then go anywhere near those idiots. They're nothing but a waste of time. Besides I know that if you catch me then the bounty on you and your little team's heads get paid off." she scowled at him before making jazz hands. "Surprise dumbass. You'll die before you see the next day. Tompson will kill you. And he'll kill Fox too if he isn't given another way to kill you. To be honest, Tompson's hoping that I'll finish you off."

"Why are you warning me? If you hate the others then you're gonna have to hate me too since I'm working with them." Wolf Asked Lollipop.

"Why are you trying to help me? Don't you wanna hurry up and put me back in my wonderland?" Lollipop asked Wolf. He huffed at her question.

"Is that all you wanted to say? Or is there more?"

"Don't get caught up in trying to catch me. You'll either end up dead because of it, or like I said before, Tompson will kill you. Don't try and convince me to trust you because there's no one in this universe that I trust besides the voices in my head that are telling me to kick you over the edge like a dodge ball. And tell your little friends that they can go ahead and quit, because I'm not. I will never stop doing what I want when I want."

Lollipop launched at Wolf forgetting momentarily that his blaster is in his hand. He quickly shot one at her, dodging in time. She swung around his flank, jumping in the air to perform a round house kick. This lead to failure. Wolf blocked it with his left arm. Dropping gun for a moment and he grabbed her by her ankle and swung her around before letting go. She skidded off the ground for a second. Lollipop shakily pushed herself up and darted towards him again. This time Wolf ran forward as well, only to have her dodge him. She ran through the door and slid down the spiraling metal railing all the way down.

Wolf snatched his gun up and went after her. He jumped over the railing and shot a grappling hook to the ceiling to slow his fall down. Once he reached the bottom he ran back through the same areas he had to come through to get to the roof. It looked like he's gaining on her big time. She darted to the left and through the wall. This tripped Wolf up for a moment before he did the same. He came into another concrete corridor. Lollipop's tail freely swishing behind her as she looked back. Seeing Wolf catch up startled her. She need to find that small exit she found.

General Peppers and Commander Tompson may have strong and smart men on their side but none of them could fit in places that she can. Lolly fell to the ground once she hit the dirt, skidding through a small hole that lead to the inside of an abandoned corner store. This didn't stop Wolf from blasting the wall to smithereens, leaving a giant hole in the wall. The pieces of the wall scattered around her, hitting her a few times as she covered her head and ran through the store knocking over shelves. Wolf jumped over one that she knocked over, watching the way she was going and cutting her off.

Lollipop looked back for a second and ran straight into Wolf. She screamed from the sudden appearance. Wolf lifted her in the air by her arms. She kicked and screamed but stopped when he slammed her to the floor. Her body paused for a moment as the pain kicked in. Her breaths heavy. Wolf crawled over her, sitting on his knees.

"What did you say about trying to catch you?" Wolf mocked.

Lollipop looked at him before kneeing him in the gut, kicking him from atop of her. Wolf was down but he launched up, growling aloud, letting his frustration be known to her. She ran to the front of the store and threw the heaviest thing she could find. The cash register. She took it and slung it around before it made contact with the window, shattering it. She jumped through it just as Wolf came around the aisle.

Wolf jumped through the window as well and ran after her. A few people noticed the two running down the street. No one helped either one. Not Lollipop to see her get away, nor Wolf to help arrest her. Wolf hadn't noticed that all his communications are now back online.

"Wolf?" Panther called through the com-link.

"I'm on her trail. Follow my coordinates, hurry." He urged him. Surprisingly it didn't take long him to find Wolf. Leon and Panther ran towards Wolf as they saw him and Lollipop fly past the street they were on. Now all three are hot on her tail. She needs to improvise and fast. There was nothing she could do at the moment. If she had them in a building of some sort or by themselves then it would be much easier to take them out, but she doesn't have that option, neither would she choose it either. She had been lucky to escape Wolf just now.

"Come on and give up already." Wolf shouted from the head of the group.

Right as they're passing by a bank with a giant whole in the front of it, it exploded. Large crumbs of the bank's front wall launched forward towards Wolf, Panther and Leon. The shock wave sent the four to the ground. Rubble flew at Panther, knocking him over while it sent Leon flying into a car and Wolf through a indoor markets front windows.

Lollipop got back up and started running until she reached another abandoned building. Jumping on her parked motor bike and riding out of there. Right now she desperately need to get out of there while she still could, not caring about the explosion. She escaped with scratches and busies as always. Wolf and his team on the other hand were knocked out. By time any of them had gotten up, Lollipop is nowhere to be seen. Leon taking the least powerful hit finally got up and walked over to Panther. He shook him to see if he'll get up. No use. He went to the front door of the market but it wouldn't budge. Soon discovered that his shoulder had been popped out of place, he figured that if he rammed the door hard enough then the door will open and it'll pop it back in place. Worth a shot, he thought. He did just that and manage to pop his shoulder back in place. Though it didn't bust the door open like he had planned. He'll just have to climb through the window. Before he did, Wolf already started to stir. Their ears still ringing from the explosion. Blood caked the side of Panther's head as he laid there limp. Wolf managed to flop out the window, crunching the glass on the sidewalk.

He looked around to see Leon going to Panther. Wolf looked down at his communicator on his wrist and sent an S.O.S. to Fox. Fox received the signal and ordered Krystal to take a passenger ship to get them. She settled into the drivers seat by strapping herself down and launching the ship. After a few minutes of diving down through the dusk colored sky, she came upon the ruin of a city. From this aerial view, anyone could see the buildings that were missing large chunks off the top, many that are abandoned and the weather conditions did nothing to help. There wasn't a patch of grass within the two-thousand square foot that Krystal is able to see. Typing in Wolf's coordinates into the GPS, she immediately got a signal from his communicator. Sweeping down to the street below she opened the hatch. Leon dragged Panther onto the ship, Wolf following close behind. Once they are secularly on board, Krystal took off back towards the Great Fox.

Krystal parked and helped Leon with Panther and took all three to the medical room. Once Panther was laid on a cot, she went to Leon and Wolf. Krystal took out some antibacterial cream and bottle and began to clean up the areas in which she'd seen blood. It stung them a slight bit but they were men, they can handle it. She put a few Band-Aid on the small scratches and large patches onto the larger wounds. Though for Panther, she had to clean the blood on the side of his head before getting out a white patch, putting it on his neck where he had been scratched badly and wrap his head in a brown bandage.

"There. Now I expect the two of you to take it easy for a few days at least. I am sure Fox will have you two do something else besides field work." Krystal said as she walked out the door to the infirmary.

Leon double checked everything that hurt. Not that he didn't trust Krystal enough to heal him, just that he didn't trust Krystal at all. He isn't going to show them anything that included trust. Wolf sat on the opposite side of the bed, thinking to himself. He knew she was slippery but he be damned if that last part wasn't staged. He wasn't sure if it was him or what Lolly said that got him on edge. He needed to relax and think. Think about what she told him. She had planned on completing what was started. What _was_ started? It could be anything. It could be revenge that she wants from someone that did her wrong. It could be a personal problem that she wants solved. Whatever it is, she made it seem like she needs them alive to help her with achieving that goal.

"You okay Wolf?" Leon asked, not bothering to turn around.

"I'll be fine. How 'bout yourself?"

"Shoulder popped out but I got it to pop back in."

"Ouch." Wolf said.

"Yeah. I think Panther got hit in the head with something from the building."

"Mmmm" Wolf replied.

"Speaking of that building," Leon started. "I know you don't honestly think that she could have _possibly_ knew that we'd run past that exact building and set off the bomb the exact moment we went in front of it."

"Nope."

"That's what I thought."

"But neither do I believe that she didn't. Maybe she really does have some sort of secrete assistant that we don't know about?" Wolf said. Leon didn't reply after that. He couldn't say that he thinks Wolf's right or wrong nor could he deny the idea that it might be the truth. He sighed aloud. Saying that they were tired is an understatement. Leon popped a pain killer in his mouth before walking out the room, leaving Wolf to his thoughts.

Lollipop is just trying to get in my head, Wolf told himself. There's no reason he should believe her. Then again she is right about a few things. If this mission were to fail then Tompson will have them executed. If the mission is a success then Tompson will personally dispose of him and finding a way to kill his team. In another way he will also be killing Fox which will earn him the treason award. Either way it's a loose-loose situation. Then his thoughts wondered over to a differently similar topic. What if he did join Lolly and help her complete her little mission? She's had several of these collars on and has figured out a way to disconnect them. So it says in a nurse report taken as evidence from the asylum. Maybe if he did join her, she could take it off him. In one way it would help Fox because Commander Tompson would have no choice but to remove it. In the other way, it wouldn't help him because it would just be proving everyone that he really is just a money hungry bad guy that they make him out to be. In that aspect it would also be a loose-loose, but from Wolf-to-Fox out look, it would be a win-loose. _What good would that do?_ Wolf sighed to himself and got up as well. He looked over at Panther for a second. He's sleeping peacefully for now. When he awakes he'll more than likely have a headache. Turning to the door, he left to see what everyone else was doing.

Fox was informed about Wolf and his team's condition by Krystal. She walked over to Slippy and discussed about what they were to do with the rescued girls. Fox, Falco and Peppy talked as well.

"So Lollipop got away again, huh?" Falco asked.

"Sadly, yes." Replied Fox.

"Wolf and his team are lucky they're not dead."

"I'd have to agree that he's right Fox. Maybe we need to be most cautious next time." Peppy says.  
"Even if we do, that's not going to stop her from doing anything possible to escape."

"What if we planned a trap? A tight fitted area where she can't slip her way past us so easily." Falco said. Peppy and Fox glanced at each other before looking at Falco, waiting for more insight.

"What location did you have in mind?" Peppy asked.

"I know this abandoned facility that is said to be haunted by restless spirits. At least that's what one of my old members said, back when I was a rouge pilot. It spreads out three of the Great Fox down, and two wide. Though the inside is completely different. Tight corridors, piping sticking out of the walls, steam releasing every now and then. More times then not it'll hit ya' in the face. No lights, no cameras, no windows, very few doors, and thousands of hallways. The place is like a maze."

Fox thought about the description Falco gave of the place. She wouldn't have anywhere to go to hide. He paused before asking Falco a question.

"What about vents?"

"Those are only located in the rooms. It was originally built to train people, like solider's. The had to memorize the layout because if they didn't then they'd die. The building was constructed that way. That's why there's no vents in the halls. If you can't remember where the room that you're looking for is, then you'll run out of air. You'd be lucky enough to find a room nearby and catch your breath."

"I don't know Falco. That seems a little extreme, even for us. The risk of killing ourselves. Suicide, I'd say." Fox said.

"It just might work." Wolf said as he entered the room.

"You heard all that?" Falco asked.

"More or less. But that's actually not a bad idea."

"I still don't know. I mean we'll be down crew members and it'll be even tougher to catch Lollipop then." Fox complained. He likes the idea too, it's just that he doesn't want to risk loosing so many at once.

"What if I give them oxygen masks?" Slippy said. "I have plenty in the storage room that they can use. Just send in Falco in place of Panther until he's ready to get back into action."

"There you go. Thanks Slips." Falco said.

Now that Slippy mentioned that, he did remember a ton of them on the shelf when he went back there. They still need to drop off these women to the closest planet to get them help.

"Fine. But this is crazy." Fox gave in.

"Maybe crazy is what we need to be." Wolf's eye twinkled mischievously. This made Fox nervous in a way.

"Fox," Krystal called out. "the Avon planet is coming up. I've already made contact with them and they'd be happy to help."

"Thanks Krystal. Now that we know what our next move is, we'll need the building's blueprints."

"I got that done. Slips, pull it up will ya'?"

Slippy pulled up the blueprints to the area. Over two-thousand yards with only twenty-three rooms in all. The date printed on the bottom of the paper records that it was made nearly fifty year ago.

"Where is this at again?" Fox asked.

"Ta-hula Varie. It's just at the end of this galaxy so no need to go too far."

"Okay. We'll head over there by three days time in mid afternoon. For now everyone needs to get some rest. Especially Leon and Wolf. You two should be ready by then right?"

"Yeah. We'll be ready." Wolf replied.

"Alright. NUS, you got it until the morning right?"

"I will be able to handle any and all tasks until the group have fully awaken." NUS said.

"Good."

"Speaking of which, I'm heading off to dreamland. Night guys, and ladies." Falco gestured to the women sitting along side the wall. A few of them giggled and the others smiled. It had been too long since a man had treated them with kindness or respect.

"I'll probably wake up a little earlier tomorrow to check a few things. Night guys and ladies." Slippy left through the door.

Peppy left during their conversation and Leon never entered the room. No doubt that they went to bed by now. NUS is a robot, his system should last him all night and half of the next day. Krystal on the other hand is currently busy on the phone again while Fox and Wolf continued to talk.

"Are you sure this will work?" Asked Fox.

"Nope. That doesn't mean we can't give it a try. Besides, she wants us to play her little game. So play we shall. If we try to reason what she's doing, yeah it'll work but only to a certain point. We gotta think like her." Wolf explained.

"And what way does she think like, Wolf?"

"Backwards."

"You're loosing me."

"That makes sense..." A small crackling voice said. It came from the group of girls.

"What do you mean?" Fox asked, making sure his voice was soft to not frighten her, even if she heard their whole conversation.

"Well...she wants to trip you up right? Why not try her best to confuse you." The soft voice came from the female tabby up front, sitting on the floor. Her orange color and even darker orange marks matched well with her chocolate brown hair hung just below her jaw line. It's knotted up in the back from not being able to brush it and from so many of the men grabbing the fist full and leaving it. The right eye is a ruby red, sparkling with hope while the left eye is pearl white. No pupil. A long scar advertised that something terrible happened to that one.

"She doesn't know what else to do...I think she's lashing out to be heard...And that- now that she has the whole galaxy's attention, maybe someone will understand..." She said.

"What's your name ma'am?" Fox asked.

"I-I don't..remember.."

"Well, once you arrive at the rescue station, you all will be taken care of and your families will be notified. You all will be going home soon." Krystal said as she smiled at them. A few of them smiled as well. Fox got up and stepped over to Krystal, speaking in hushed tones.

"I informed General Peppers when he called. He'll personally thank Panther once he's well enough. But the report that Wolf put in not too long ago, probably before he stepped in here, Commander Tompson read. You can imagine how happy he is."

"Oh I bet he's thrilled right about now." Fox chuckled at the end. He, as well as everyone else that read his current report, then they all understand that he's most definitely going to receive an earful when Commander Tompson visits or calls.

"I'm heading off now, night everyone." Wolf looked at Krystal, Fox and the women before stepping out. A good night rest should do him some good. He walked to the infirmary where he saw that Panther hadn't woken up and Leon past out on one of the cots. Wolf planned on doing the same thing. He took a couple of steps towards his team before his personal cell phone buzzed. He'd gotten a text message. He flipped it open and saw an image of himself. Just a few moments ago, right when he was about to say good night. Krystal leaning on one arm on a table as she spoke to Fox, whom was listening intently. The girls either looking at him or the pair. He was busy looking at the blue print on the screen. His heart beat sped up. Unknown number. This is freaky, Wolf thought as he sent it straight to Fox. Still pending, it read. This might take a while. Doing as he planned, Wolf walked over to the cot next to Leon and laid down. He made himself comfortable enough to fall asleep. Hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

* * *

"So they're going there huh? Fun. Always love a fucking complicated maze. Getting lost and all turned around but this time you run out of oxygen. Sounds like that new horror show "The Horror in Me". Classic." Lollipop said to herself.

Her sound transmitter helped her a great deal. Once she knew General Peppers had been brought in for the past two years, it was only a matter of time before he'd hired his beloved Star Fox team. She snuck in when they had landed for that one mission to plant the little bug. She did that to General Peppers office and Commander Tompson's favorite pin that he wears on his uniform.

Lollipop dug through her box of blueprints that she stole without notice. She has the lay out of Ta-hula Varie somewhere in her little hideout. She dug through all the boxes of stuff that she has but couldn't find it.

"That's fucking fantastic." Lolly looked around and thought. If she couldn't get Wolf on her side, even though she could care less whether or not he died, then she'd have to use a different approach.

Thinking about the time she spent with Wolf disguised as Candy gave her a warm feeling. It wasn't that she like him, no. It's the fact that someone listened to her. Everyone always thought her as crazy and that anything that came out of her mouth is nonsense. But Wolf-he knew how she felt. That part is true.

"Sad to say that you didn't know it was me as Candy...or did you?" Lolly walked up to his picture pinned to the rock wall, stroking his mugshot.

 _Kill him...or he'll kill you..._

Lollipop's head began to ache. The throbbing sensation is too much. It felt like a migraine though she knew it wasn't. The voices have been getting stronger lately. They want her to continue. They want her to achieve her goal. It's all she ever wanted. Wolf and Fox are trying to keep her from that goal.

 _Enough playtime...retreive the last file and you'll b E..._

Freedom. She can show them what she meant, that it was all a misunderstanding. They might even become friends afterwards. Though she'd always wondered where she'd seen Fox before. He looked so familiar. It's boggling her mind. Another headache came, and the voices were becoming angry.

 _o D...Time is wasting..._

"I get it." she shouted. Lollipop became frustrated with the voices. They're nagging more than usual. It must be close to ending all this. "After this round I'll get that file. And I'll shove it in their preppy faces that I was right." Her wicked smile didn't disappear. It remained there for a while. Until her thoughts went back to Wolf.

He could have shot her several times but didn't. Why was he tricking her? She told him the truth. She showed him the softer side of herself. Her shoulders slumped and her ears folded back against her head. It felt weird that these thoughts were actually taking an effect on her. The way it effected her felt odd as well.

"Wolf..." she looked back at his picture. That one eye he had, the shining purple eye that he had. "I wish you had both eyes still. That way I can tell if you're truly lying to me or not."

Lollipop backed up and twirled around. Her body is tired. Her eyelids are tired. Her very muscles are tired. Not once has she slept, oh no, not yet, the voices told her. They told her that she must stay awake.

"Oh Wolf. We could have made a wonderful team. We could have been friends, best friends. And if the power was great enough, there could have been a sliver of a chance that we could have been lovers." Lollipop's hushed voice disappeared into a whisper.

She got up and looked at what is all around her. Material items. Nothing that had a soul or a heart, a mind of it's own or an opinion. She talked with the voices everyday, at least once a day. If they needed to then they'd intervene when they felt absolute need to.

"They're the ones that keep me safe. They're the ones who want best for me." She told herself.

The sky began to cry. The toxic liquid could melt anything, even if it's unable to melt. She looked at the sky and wondered. If her and Wolf had met on different terms, would they have gotten along better? Would something bloom between them whether it was friendship or maybe something a little more then that?

She imagined that the two of them would bump into each other on the street. They'd apologize at the same time and he'd help her up, and pick up her things. She'd start off the conversation and they'd talk for a while. Chatting about simple stuff. Life, family, friends, what hobbies they're into. He'd walk her home and they would eventually meet up again. Hit it off again and again and again. Lollipop sighed to herself. Instead of a wicked smile, a sweet one appeared upon her lips.

The voices screamed in her head. It banged and jiggled. They wanted her to focus. They wanted Wolf dead. They wanted to finish the job.

 _KILL HIM...OR...WE WILL_

Once they were done screeching, the pressure released. She became light-headed and fell over on the rock floor. The cool surface brought her high body temperature back down. She felt too dizzy to stand, so she laid there instead. Eventually she dozed off. Letting the darkness swallow her whole as she felt weightless.


	16. Ta-hula Varie

The day began by Krystal addressing Leon and Wolf's wounds. Making sure that they weren't infected and that the damaged area is properly working. Panther on the other hand has to keep a wrap around his head. The hit had taken it's toll on him though that's not something that he's going to be in his line of work. Krystal refused to let him go on the mission with Wolf and Leon. He intended to seek help from Wolf to say other wise but had agreed with Fox that it's best he stay and continue to recover. He sighed before finally agreeing, even if he wasn't going to like it.

Wolf, Leon and Falco landed safely on the ground. It's just like the previous planets; full of life but looked to be a jungle. Many wildlife creatures poked around the forest floor.

Their goal is simple. Find Lollipop, corner her and capture her. This place should give them the upper-hand since Falco knew the place like the back of his hand. The three gathered at the deck to go over what their plan is.

"Slippy went ahead and filled me in on what these are." Falco held up a small pouch. "They're to keep oxygen in you. Each one last for about an hour tops so careful how many ya use." Falco said. "Everyone know the plan?"

"Yeah." Leon said. "Roam around the halls until one of us finds her."  
"When that happens, you two will try to lead her to me by chasing her." Wolf finished.

"Exactly. Since we know she has a thing for the big bad Wolf then this'll make distracting her that much more easier." Leon chuckled at Falco's statement. Wolf realized that from then on that none of them were going to let him live that down.

"Har, har, har. You both hilarious."

"The hatch should be opening in three, two, one." Slippy said over the intercom. As he counted dow, the hatch opened. It revealed a dark and abandoned forest. The planet had never been noted that life was on the planet.

The forest seemed healthy, indicating that stable weather existed on the planet. Besides the one overly complicated building that they're suppose to enter, no other structure had been seen. Not even so much as rubble or dust.

"Do you know anything about this place besides the fact that it's abandoned?" Wolf asked.

"Nope. Though I did get Slippy to find as much info on this place as he could."

"Well? What did he find?" Leon asked curiously.

"The place is a burial sight."

"That's just wonderful."

"Scared Leon?" Wolf teased. Wolf isn't a believer in the supernatural but Leon is and Panther is just a skeptic about it because it was his nature.

"No, I-"

"Calm down, I'm only messing with ya. Don't let it get in your head." Wolf said.

"I think he said that it was also a base way back in the day. Like I explained earlier about how the ventilation works, that had been apart of it. Though no one seems to know what happened here. Just like the other place where Slippy and Panther went into, no back story." Falco said.

They walked for a mile until they found the clearing where the building sat. The electrical gate is damaged to the point of no repairs. The gate is even ripped back and busted in a few places. The watch tower is in even worse condition than the gate is. On the ground were a few holes filled to the brink of mud and rain water.

"It must have rained a while ago." Leon said as he took noticed of the ground.

"I don't see a door for as far as I can see down this side." Wolf noted.

"We'll have to crawl through a widow." Leon and Wolf looked at him. "I didn't say there was a front door just that there's a few doors on the inside."

"You couldn't have mentioned that in the first place." Wolf said, sounding annoyed.

Leon walked further down the side of the building, running his hand over the smooth surface. Buffed down enough to make it slick; making it hard for anyone to get into the building via window but easy enough to slip out.

"Why are they all bordered up like the people don't want anyone to be able to get in." Leon called over his shoulder.

"I don't know. Never knew why and Slippy couldn't find anything regarding what the building was actually for."

He hummed to himself for a moment and looked down the wall. Wolf and Falco chatted some more about the place and what their insight plan will be if anything should go wrong. It will most likely go wrong. Grazing his eyes up and down the wall he saw a low window.

"What about this window?" Falco and Wolf came closer to see.

"Hmmm. That might be one of the labs they had. An old teammate of mine found a low window too. She busted it in and snooped through the room. She found a ton of beakers and different chemicals and thousands of notes regarding some sort of experiments."

"That's our way in." Wolf said. "Do you remember what else she found?"

"Nothing that was living. The thing that was in there looked like it was dead."

"There's actually something in there?"

"Yeah. But that was all we saw. Didn't have the guts back then to see what was in the other labs." Falco said. "That reminded. We'll be okay on that because all the lab doors are made out of pure iron and only open with a key card. Never found it. But my other teammate and I jumped through another window and managed to find her and hack the lock. We stuck a thick cloth in between the door and the lock mechanism that way we can get out of there if we needed to." Falco explained.

"Right. You think you can find it again?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah, it's on the other side of the building." Leon and Wolf followed Falco around the building and to the other side, which mirrored the other side. They walked nearly all the way to the end when he stopped and showed them the window. It's nearly half the size the other one was and it is dug a little into the ground.

"Come one. If I can fit through there you guys can too." Falco said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah..." Leon looked at the window and tried to peer inside. The only thing he saw was some odd shape to the left of the room from his view point.

"Besides is my fat teammate could fit through there, then you two definitely can."

"You probably had to shove him in there." Wolf said and pointed to the window.

"Even if I did have to shove him in there, he still got in."

"I'll go first." Leon crawled onto his stomach and shimmed through the small opening. It was too dark for him to see anything, let alone see where the floor is. He felt the ragged stone beneath his hands as he slowly went down the wall. He was nearly hanging by his feet and still hadn't felt the floor. Leon's weight pulled him down the rest of the way, face first into the stone floor.

"Found the floor." He gripped in agony. Leon stood up. Being out of the window allowed the moonlight to shine in, brightening up the room. There isn't much in the room besides a few tables lined up along the walls, old computers and two metal shelves. Wolf squeezed through the window next. Instead of face first, he slid in backwards, allowing his legs to hit the ground first as he slid on his stomach.

"Jeez. The air is really thin." Falco slipped in right after Wolf.

"Yup, told ya'."

"Whatever happened to the doctors, they left almost everything that they were working on." Leon lifted up a filed stuffed with papers. He opened it and read different equations with matching results. Majority, if not all of them were labeled as "failed". "Experimentations." He said.

"Wonder what happened to the doctor watching over this individual experiment?" Falco wondered out loud.

Wolf shifted through the shelves to find anything that might indicate that Lollipop will have any interest in. A glass full of green eyes, a tongue in one, and a large brain in another. A few scopes and a magnifying glass. All next to a small boxes that are labeled with dates and who had worked on that particular day or project.

He froze. Something is touching his tail. Falco and Leon are on the other side of the room, looking through the files and notes left behind this forgotten place. He wagged his tail back and forth. It brushed against something slim like a pole. It wasn't a pole because he couldn't hear his fur slapping against it. The sound was more of a pat. Wolf turned around to find a metal examination table with a large blob on it. It wasn't what was on the table that nearly gave him a heart attack, it was inside the the "thing".

"Ah!" Wolf launched backwards, practically knocking both metal shelves over on Leon.

"What is it?" Falco asked as he looked at what Wolf has found. A leg is sticking out of the creature. The leg has decaying flesh still on it. It's also still connected to the rest of the skeleton. The bones of a cat laid inside the translucent creature. Falco tugged Wolf's sleeve to bring him towards the door. With each step backwards that he took, he noticed a tank beneath the table. It was filled to the brink with various of bones. Quickly, the three ran out the room as fast as the could. A horror sight it is. A graveyard it's become.

"The hell was that about?" Wolf said.

"Like I said. This place was abandoned. It was discovered eight years ago by the local authorities." Falco said.

"They never told their people or anything?"

"This planet alone became a ghost town when people started going missing. There's a town not too far from here too. All I know is that these people soulfully believed in the afterlife and spirits. That's why they all moved off the planet." He explained.

"Well. Think of the bright side. At least it's not alive. Otherwise it would have finished that person off." Leon stated. Joking about things helped sooth him down. Though they are all a little creeped out, they still have this job to do.

"Okay. Besides whatever that thing is, we gotta get set up and start looking." Wolf said.

"Right. I vote that scaredy cat here, roams this wing."

"I second that." Wolf agreed with Falco.

"What?" Leon looked worried.

"You'll be fine. Like you said, 'at least it's not alive'." He hates it when Wolf uses his own words against him.

"Fine." Leon pulled his blaster from over his shoulder and walked down the hall while Falco and Wolf walked the opposite way.

"You got this wing right?" Falco asked.

"Yeah. How can you tell the start and end of each wing?"

"See those colored strips on the corners." Falco pointed upward where there is a navy blue strip covering the corner. "This wing is filled with halls and three rooms. Leon's wing is medical rooms, medical supplies, and labs. My wing will consist of filing and storage. Now there's also a basement but I'm not sure how to get down there."

"Ah, okay."

"Just watch out for the pipes." Falco said and jogged towards the left and made a right down the hall. Wolf went right, pointing his gun down the hall, ready for action.

All he has to do is either wait for them to chase Lollipop towards him, or hopes he finds her first. A pipe blared steam behind him, making him jump. It will take him a few minutes, if that, to get use to the pipes. He inhaled and exhaled. Moving onwards, keeping a decent pace. The halls are going to be long and slim so there wasn't anywhere for her to run exactly, nor hide.

Falco is having no such luck in spotting Lollipop. In most cases he's noticed that she's taken a file with her, or at least made a copy of one. He didn't read what they presented but neither did anyone else.

As for Leon, he was having a bit of trouble. He nervously looked around each corner as if that orange-mouth creature is waiting there for him. To his pleasure it's nowhere in sight. The halls were slightly dark though he made it through each one just fine. Hardly did he cross a door. The only one he had passed by was a two stall bathroom. A couple of pipes blared the sound of releasing steam, nearly giving him a heart attack in the process. He went through the entire hallway. The hall he's on simply wrapped around in multiple areas. Pretty soon he'll be on his way back to the others

Wolf wasn't having such great luck either. He does hear things fall and bang against things but whenever he'd check it out, there'd be no one. It didn't make sense. _'Maybe this place really is haunted'_ Wolf thought to himself. A shiver went down his spine. Walking back out the door he heard blast echoing. The echo bounced off the walls and to his ears. He assumed that Leon is hearing this. Wolf ran in the direction of the shots. Turning left, then right, pass a door, turn right and down the hall he can see the two shadows. One male, one female.

He ran into the room to discover that this is the main control room. Wolf held up his gun, ready to fire.

"Stay still. It'll only hurt for a second." Falco shouted.

"Bite me." Lollipop dodged another round of bullets before diving under a table around the corner.

The room itself has short hallways leading to a decent sized room. Each room had either computers, test subjects remains, files, or dealt with the property in general. Little did she know that Wolf came to help Falco. He silently came over, not making a sound. Falco reloaded his gun as Wolf signaled him to continue to talk.

"It's funny how when we're the ones to get close and personal you run away," raising his gun in front of him, he walked around, checking everything. "but when you do that, it's okay. What's up with that?"

Falco checked behind the table and cabinets. He saw Lollipop looking through a box that, strange enough, didn't have a label. He glanced at Wolf, seeing him putting his gun away.

"Come on. You're acting like a child ya' know." He mocked. Still nothing. Though Wolf seemed to be onto something. Falco stood next to the table that Wolf is has been keeping his eye on. He flicked his purple eye to the table then back to Falco. He found her, he thought. He knelt around the corner, out of sight. Falco ripped the table cloth off. "Gotcha'!"

Lollipop scrambled to her feet and darted for the door. Just as she was about to pass the corner where Wolf is hiding, he jumped out, causing her to run into him. He latched his arms around her, trapping her arms close to her chest. Her eyes widen with shock as her green eyes met Wolf's purple one. A light blush dusted her cheeks.

Neither of them had noticed her distracted. Though Wolf picked her up and laid her on the same table she had hid under. She began to kick and scream. With Falco on one side and Wolf on the other she started to see a different scene. Nurse outfits but they were white. They wore large grins. She could feel the tight grip on her wrists as she's being pinned down. Not again, not again. Her mind screamed.

Lollipop kicked and lashed out harder. She isn't going to let them do this to her again. She screamed out for them to stop. Her eyes clenched shut so she wouldn't have to see it happen again.

"Leave me alone! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Stop kicking." Falco shouted above her. Then her foot connected with his genitals and he fell to the floor. That gave her a better chance to get away. She pushed back and tumbled on the floor.

Wolf tried to keep her still before she could slip away he hand cuffed her to him. They both got up and she jerked and pulled at the cuff. The metal rubbed against her fur, pinching it, leaving a red mark on her. The cuffs are made out of iron, so chances of escape by breaking the cuffs is near to impossible with an uncooperative partner. Lollipop opened her eyes to see Wolf linked to her via hand cuff; the scene returned to normal. She tugged and tugged at it. Even though she couldn't slip out of it, she could drag Wolf with her.

"Didn't think you were that strong." He teased.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." She replied calmly. A smirk grew on Wolf's face before yanking her to him, pulling the arm with the cuffs out to the side while holding her against him with a bone crushing grip. She blushed again.

"But not strong enough." His deep voice growled, his smirk still making its presence on his face.

Lollipop can't deny that he's a handsome man. She's always had a thing for bad boys and thin waists and being pressed against him is making her uncomfortable. When she's the one acting all touchy and flirty it's okay but when they did it, it sort of scared her. She can feel his muscles against her and it felt oddly right. It was like as if it him holding her is right, even if she knew that it isn't. Her blush darkened.

She just barely reached under his chin. Lolly had already assumed that he's over six foot tall. Herself being only five foot one inch made that much of a difference. Lolly glanced at him from under her bangs, an idea popping into her head. She made a move that he hadn't been expecting. Shooting to her tippy-toes, Lollipop smash her lips on Wolf's. His eye widen and a blush danced across his face, dark enough to match hers, in which grew even darker. She used this time to pick the lock with her nail. Over the months she's filed them to a point and has yet to break any of them.

When it clicked, she pushed Wolf away from her and darted out the room. Wolf stood for a second before running after her himself. Falco left alone in the room by himself, aching in pain.

"Never will I test a girl like that ever again." He groaned. He won't be getting up for a while. Laying there on the floor in fetal position. He hadn't seen what happened, thought he knew that she got loose.

As for Lollipop who ran as fast as she could, turned a corner, bumping into a hot pipe. It threw her off balance and allowed Wolf to catch up and tackle her to the floor. She twisted and punched his chest, forgetting that he still has his armor on. Lolly grabbed the top rim of the armor and used all her strength to throw him off balance, rolling to the other side of the hall. She tried to get it and run again if it weren't for the fact that Wolf has her wrists again. Out of everything he can grab, like her hair or suspenders, he'd rather grab her hands. At the same time he tried to get up but failing at it.

The pipe next to them began to build up too much pressure and released the hot air. Its steam hitting Lollipop in the face. The hot air left a light burn across the right side of her face, leaving a red tint to her cream colored fur. All expect a small spot on her forehead is red. The mark stayed a lighter shade of cream, hardly noticeable. But that mark reminded him...

* * *

 _"Ow, that hurt." She said. He had_ _accidentally_ _scratched her with his nail. He looked at her apologetically and she smiled in return, as if to say 'it's okay'. He'll need to be more careful with his nails. He doesn't want to hurt her on purpose._

* * *

"Ugh! That hurt you little ass." Lollipop looked at him with anger as she covered her face for a moment. The emotion filled her eyes as she narrowed the green orbs on him. He had let go of her as she backed away from the pipe. She hadn't noticed his daze as she hissed in pain. He scrambled to his feet as she set off in the other direction.

"There's no way out."

"If there's a way in there's a way out." She called back. She couldn't full on sprint but she could jog. The file is somewhere here, she knows it. The voice told her how to get in. Why didn't it tell her where to find the papers at? That made her think back to when they stopped. She entered a filing room and not long after Falco came in, shooting at her. Not long after that, Wolf came. Just her luck If he's such a hot shot then why didn't he try to arrest me like he's suppose-, she thought to herself. That's when it clicked. They were chasing her _towards_ Wolf. They think he's her weak spot. Well, there have another thing coming. Lolly ducked into a room, shutting the door quietly as possible and looked for a spot to hide at.

He knows that she turned left. Wolf saw the three doors. The three rooms that Falco told him about. Start with the middle one, he figured. He twisted the knob. The door is being blocked from the other side. The things that is blocking the door is far too heavy for her to move on her own, or even with some help. Wolf darted to the door on the left. It's unlock to his luck. He opened it slightly, looking in to see where she's at. _'She's smart enough to hide.'_

Lollipop hadn't heard anything for a little bit. He must have moved on, she figured. Wrong. Just as she's about to crawl out of her hiding spot, Wolf enters the room.

"Come on. Enough games Lolly. You know just as much as I that you're hiding in here. One door was blocked on the other side so I know you didn't get in there. I trashed the other room, so that leaves this one." He says.

Lolly knows that he's just trying to make her crack. All the cop shows she used to watch as a teen made it worth it. Being involved in an _actual_ situation similar to the ones on those shows is absolute nerve wrecking. Lollipop stood her ground no matter what he said.

"I also know you know that Falco and Leon are in the building. Whose to say that we don't have the outside grounds covered too?" Wolf pulled off a few sheets only to reveal boxes of papers. He walked to the back of the room where two tables stood side-by-side long ways. Boxes and other materials are scattered across the top of it. What Wolf didn't know is that he gave away the location to the file she has been looking for. If she can keep quite and hurry, she can slip out without him knowing where she was hiding. There's a slim chance she can make it out without being followed. That's a chance she'll have to take if she ever wants to get out of here.

He pulled the white sheet off the floor and found more stuffed boxes. All these boxes are starting to aggravate him. There is another door, it's to his left. It must be a closet. He turned the knob and opened it. Cool air and dust spilled out the tiny room. Wolf turned on his flashlight and looked around the room and only saw empty, dusty shelves.

Lollipop gently pushed the door so she can get out from under the table that was against the right side of the door when you walk in. Holding her breath and reached out for the file. Grabbing it firmly she pulled it out carefully. Her heart is racing. Taking a couple steps to the door and one foot out of it, Wolf turned around and saw her leave. Lollipop ran down the hallway, back the way she came. If she only started running sooner, Wolf wouldn't have caught up so easily. Then again it's probably the adrenaline that's making her shake.

Wolf caught up too fast for her liking. She had never been the best runner. Out of all of her friends, she was always the slowest. Lolly always felt like she was running in slow motion. An odd feeling but so true. She's thankful that she's a lucky person. Wolf lunged forward and jumped Lollipop. She slammed to the ground, laying on her stomach. He put the gun to her head to keep her still and he kept his knee in her back, digging into her spine.

"You are not getting away this time, princess." he taunted. The file landed right next to Lolly's head. "Well, look at what we got here. So you were after things. This'll help a lot."

"Give it back, flea bag." Wolf dug his knee further into her spine, causing her pain.

"Mmm, you're one of those people who can hide pain well enough to last you. That's not going to help you this time. I know more torture tactics than you, and I know a lot of ways to get you talking." Wolf let up his knee and pulled her up backwards to put the cuffs on her. She hissed in pain. He pushed her forward. Hopefully he'll find Leon since Falco wouldn't be of much help, that way they can get out of here already. Wolf dragged her back the way he followed her from. They shouldn't be too far from the lab that the three had entered from.

"What now?" She asked. Clearly she's going to try to distract him.

"You get to get a nice cozy cell of your own."

"Yeah right." She said. Lollipop didn't understand why he was acting like nothing terrible was going to happen to her. He knew that she's going to be killed by his government and so did she. She was told that much at least. What if he really didn't know?

Lollipop fell quite as Wolf looked around for a door. He's in Falco's wing as he seen the orange tape at the top of the corner. Leon's is yellow. Wolf didn't entirely noticed that she hadn't said anything for a while. She'd skidded the toe of her boot every now and then but not a word past through her lips. He continued to drag her by her arm like a kid in trouble. As much as she hated getting into trouble but she didn't care right now. She's trying to escape at the moment. Her thoughts began to observe everything around her. The things she noticed. Wolf is larger in height, his gun is out, he has her by her forearm, nowhere to run even if she could run. She'd have to resort to dirty, underhanded tricks.

"You're awfully quite."

"And? There's nothing much to say when you're being dragged down the hall by a handsome man." This made Wolf uncomfortable. Though he saw what game she's playing and joined in on the fun.

"How nice of you to notice." He said before grinning. It earned him a low growl from her. She figured that he's playing along too now. Her smile came back as she continued to talk.

"Well you're welcome. It's not everyday a girl gets pulled into a room with a ruggedly good looking man such as yourself. I mean just look at that beautiful purple eye- did I mention purple is my favorite color?"

Wolf ignored her but she didn't ignore that almost invisible pink dust that seemed to spread across his cheeks the more she talked. He kept his gaze forward.

"I'm no one for facial hair, but I must say you look quite attractive with a beard." she giggled. Wolf didn't need to look at her to know how she was looking at him. "I gotta tell ya' Mr. Wolf, I do have a thing for bad boys and tall males. But you, you are two in one. A dream boat one could say. I also find pirates sexy too. Just all that sexiness drives me mad." Lollipop stretched out the last three words in her sentence to emphasize them. Wolf's face is now red as an apple like it had been just minutes ago. He knows she's just messing with him. What Wolf really needs to do is get out of here.

"Do you ever stop flirting with everyone?"

"Yes because I prefer males. Males that are tall. Handsome. _Strong_. And dominate."

"That is it." Wolf said and pushed her against the wall.

"Oh you're so forceful." New note achieved: Lollipop loves to push his buttons.

"What is with you? I know you know that I'm not falling for it, so why keep trying?" He asked her. His face a few inches from hers.

"Oh you think that's how I "try". You're cute boo boo, but if you really want to know what trying is, then you should have met me ten years ago." Lollipop knee him in the gut as hard as she could muster before running off down the hall.

"You little bitch." He grunted. Wolf regained himself and ran after her. She is _NOT getting away that easily_.

Lollipop unlocked on cuff, swinging her arms around to her front, she unlocked the other one. Turning to the left, she still hasn't ran into Falco and Leon. She hit her foot on one of the pipes as she continue to run down the hall. She's running out of oxygen. It's a good thing she snatched that oxygen packet that he has.

 _HURRY_

"Shut up. No air. Getting out." Lollipop said lowly to herself.

 _FILE_

"Ah shit man." Lollipop slowed to a stop. "Wolf's got it. He'll know I'm coming back for it." She thought for a minute. He knows she'll come back for it, that's too obvious. He'll easily distract her by using it to his advantage. She needs a different approach. She looked right and recognized the route. It will wrap around to the next hall that she turned off of. Worth a shot, she told herself. Wolf made it just in time to see her run up the parallel hallway. He too knows that it wraps around. He plans to cut her off at the end.

As planned by both of them, they ran into each other. Lollipop jumped back and screamed. She'd forgotten that he's a lot faster than she is at running. She really needs to keep that in mind.

"Going somewhere, love?" Wolf teased.

"How 'bout out of my mind snook'ums?" She giggled. Lolly attempted to back up a few steps if it weren't for the pip behind her right leg. The heat built up in it made the metal containing it burn her as she pressed it her leg. "AH.."

"Careful there. They're hot."

"Funny. Look hun, how 'bout you just let me by and who knows. Maybe I'll reward you?" She bargained.

"Not happening." Wolf declined as he snatched her left wrist and pulled her to himself. She tried to free her wrist but his grip was that of iron. It didn't help that he trapped her with his other arm, pressing her body against his own. Might she add that this is the third time that he grabbed her in the same way. With little to no effort he picked her up and started walking the other way.

"I'm not that damn light." her mind jumped to a completely different topic. Lolly turned her attention back to her problem with ease. "Where are you even taking me? You know there's no doors to exit this place."

"Yeah I know. But I'll make you go through the window one way or another."

"I see and what is one of those ways?"

"Stop trying to test me." Wolf replied.

"You mean like this." She began kicking like a child, making his knees give out by kicking them hard enough. He fell to the floor just as she planned, though in the wrong direction. Instead of falling backwards like she anticipated him to, he fell forward, on top of her.

"Not very smart about that now were you?" It's a rhetorical question.

"And you say I talk too much."

"I said you flirt too much."

"Same difference ain't it? Still using my mouth and words aren't I? But no I wasn't smart about that." Lollipop admitted. "Though I will admit you really are adorable when you think you're the top dog. So to speak." She smiled. She laughed when she saw his confused look.

That's when he felt a thin object press against his genitals. He looked down and saw her pressing a switch blade against his manhood. He couldn't comprehend how she could have concealed that weapon on her. He felt her sit up. He lost his grip on her wrist and shoulder. Wolf looked up and looked into her eyes.

"Now be a good boy and don't move, or else." Lollipop said rather happily.

"Or what?"

"You do want kids one day don't you?"

"You wouldn't dare." Wolf's eye widen in acknowledgement. Lollipop giggled in response.

"Oh wouldn't I?" Lolly pressed it more against his privates. He froze for a moment. As long as he's on his hands and knees there is nothing that he can pull off without her cutting him where it counts. "Good boy." She kissed his cheek. She's having too much fun.

She reached behind him to pull the file out in which he had tucked it in the rim of his pants so he could catch her. She swiveled her legs around and allowed him to sit on his knees. Lolly grabbed the cuffs from her pocket and put one cuff on his left wrist, wrapping the other cuff around the pip next to them and cuffing it to the same wrist, all while she pressed the blade into his manhood if she thought he was going to try something. She stood up, closing the blade and began to leave him there. Wolf shot up as she turned around and grabbed her wrist again. This time he pulled her into him again, both standing on their knees, bodies pressed together.

"Just don't know when to quit do ya'?" She asked.

"Nope." He said and kissed her. Lollipop is shocked and a bit taken back by the sudden action even if she was the one to kiss him first. Never thought he'd use her own trick against her. This cause her cheeks to glow pink then red once more. More like the right cheek since the other is burned. She shook the surprise by kissing him back, gently running her nails down his jaw line, never letting go of the switch blade.

What Lollipop didn't know is that she isn't the only one that knows how to pick pockets. With them being the opposite sex, it made it that much more effortless to take whatever it is they want. He took back the key to the cuffs. It was obvious that she had took them since he caught her and they weren't on her wrist. He backed up, needing air.

"Cute. You actually think that works on me." She pushed off of him and ran in the direction she was going earlier. Taking several turns, she found an open door. She saw the green blob on the table to the right. Lolly backed up some and shifted around the room, watching the creature to make sure it doesn't move. She started to crawl through the tiny window.

Wolf on the other hand got he cuffs off and ran after her. He ran past Falco who limped after him. Leon had beat them there and is standing there trying to pull her back in. Lollipop screamed bloody murder at his sudden presence. They found the door I which held the window they crawled through to get inside thanks to her scream. Wolf pushed through the door and saw Lollipop wiggling out of the window. He jumped over and grabbed her ankle. Falco came in right behind him and tried to pull her in with him too. The three desperately tried their best to yank her back in. Though she repeatedly slipped, she had gotten to her knees and freed one leg. Leon started to climb through as she ran off. he chased after her as Wolf helped Falco through the window.

Leon followed her into the forest. Ducking, tripping and diving past each branch, roots and large bushes, eventually loosing her to the darkness. It amazed him that she disappeared that quick. Not only did he loose her, but she took the file and they're back at square one. He huffed as he he checked one more time around the area, even around the entire building and didn't see her. He made his way back to her and shook his head.

"That's great." Falco huffed. "I get the nut shot and she gets away."

Falco was bent over, breathing heavily, placing his hands on his knees. Leon pointed at him and raised a eyebrow at Wolf.

"She hit him pretty hard. Come on, Fox should be coming now." A few more minutes and they were boarding the Great Fox. Falco sat down and held an ice pack to his genitals. Sympathy rang through the room as he entered.

"Well at least we know she means business." Fox said. His attempt to liven the room failed. "Anything else happen?"

Wolf ran through what recently happened and decided to leave the kissing parts out. They aren't that important to mention. Besides, Wolf doesn't want to hear them teasing him because he kissed her or about them being right about her having a "thing" for him.

"She stole yet another file. Got hot air to the face. That's just about it on my part. And besides her playing hide and seek the whole time." Wolf explained.

"Full detail reports suck." Falco complained. Realizing that he'll have to mention that she kick him in his junk.

"Though, I don't know about Falco, but to me it seemed like she freaked out more then we would've guessed."

"What do you mean by that, Wolf?" Fox asked.

"Well, when we had her pinned down, she stared off into space for a few minutes. I don't think she even noticed that part, and she freaked out like we were attacking her." Wolf said, still thinking it over in his head.

"Technically, we were." Falco chimed in.

"He's got a point, though I don't think that's what you mean. Besides that any clue where she went?"

"Slipped away in the woods." Leon said.

"That's wonderful." Krystal commented. "Just when we were for sure that we had her this time."

"Yeah," Peppy agreed. "All we can do right now is rest up. We may have lost her for now but I have no doubt in my mind that we will find her again. Now it will be a good idea for everyone to get some rest. It's nearly two in the morning and sleep is a must."

Everyone agreed with Peppy and headed off to bed. Fox helped Falco limp to his room, leaving NUS to take charge for the rest of the night. Just because they had all went to their rooms didn't mean that they went to sleep. Peppy, Slippy, Krystal, Panther, and Falco were the ones that fell asleep. Fox laid awake in his bed, wearing nothing but boxers and staring at the ceiling. It's a cold night. A quite one too. A perfect time to think over a few things. Lollipop has gotten away by pure luck thus far. What will happen if she ran out of luck and couldn't escape? What would her trail be like? Long or short? He guessed it would be short considering that they have all this information on her and what she's done. They only other question that's bugging him is what will they do with her? Fox sighed to himself and got under his covers and rolled over. He wished his father a good night, though he knew it was just a picture of him on his night stand. Sleep over took him and he drifted off.

Though Fox isn't the only one thinking of Lollipop. Wolf, Panther, and Leon shard the spare room that they had. Wolf slept on the top bunk while Panther slept on the bunk underneath him and Leon slept on the one next to them. Wolf thought back to the little time he's gotten to know Lollipop and what little info he had received about her. He specifically remembered her dressing up as Candy. Were those her real feelings; what she truly felt about the world? Or was it just to hide the fact it was her? He couldn't think straight with her involved. He sighed aloud, becoming aggravated with the thought of her, yet he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Can't sleep?" Leon said, startling Wolf.

"No."

"Is it because of your little girlfriend?" Leon teased.

"Shut up." He growled.

"I'm just playing, jeez." he replied. "What's bugging you?"

"Nothing."

Leon knew Wolf is trying to put it off. It's a defense mechanism that he has. Though Wolf isn't the only one to hide his feelings all the time, doesn't mean it goes unnoticed. He isn't sure as to why he's doing that but he isn't going to push Wolf about it.

"Alright." Leon rolled over on his side, facing the wall next to him.

Wolf stared at the ceiling, playing with the small crystal that he wears around his neck. There isn't a time where he takes it off. It has too much sentimental value for him to accidentally forget it or loose it. He'd sooner die then to let this tiny object disappear from his physical being in a heartbeat.

Speaking of heartbeats, his is racing a little too much. Wolf rolled over, facing the wall next to him as well and pulled out a photo. Another treasure that he keeps hidden. It's a simple photo of when he could be around his best friend. No one knows about this picture or of the "best friend" that's in it. Leon never met them, nor heard of them.

Wolf refused to speak while waiting to go to Corneria. For all Leon knew, this "best friend" is made up. He also never showed anyone the photo because it's the only other thing he holds close to his heart. That image, the small crystal, and his memories. Wolf slipped the picture back under his pillow. The promise ringing through his head.

 _Promise that you'll come find me again!_

 _I promise..._


	17. Another visit

It wasn't as hot as it was last weekend. It became more breezy that day. It relaxed him very much. He heard the man with the stand that had many wind chimes making music in the air. One was a green crystal butterfly, another a blue orb. Different types of material made to make the chime.

Summer came to a close three days ago, and everyone seemed much more relaxed and more comfortable. Different people wore a little more clothing than they did last time. Fall will begin shortly.

He patiently sat there, as he did yesterday, waiting for her. It was yet another Monday. The fifth since he's been there. Stuck without any knowledge about what's going to happen to them. Though he can say they're at least giving them food and shelter. That's all he asked for. A painful memory of his family flashed in his mind. He missed them terribly. He blamed himself. If he had been awake and alert then maybe they would still be alive right now.

He let out a heavy huff and forcefully pushed the thought aside and looked around. It struck one o'clock. She should have been here by now.

Forty-five minutes later and she still was nowhere to be seen. That was until he spotted her long londe hair. A lady with long pure silver hair held the girl in her arms. He got to his feet, wondering if it would be a good idea to go over to her.

The girl laid in the woman's arms, her small head resting on her shoulder as she skimmed through a dream catcher stand. She lifted each one up and showed them to the little girl. A dull expression is what he assumed her face wore. He could tell from her body language that she hasn't been feeling good. Though why didn't she seem happy to be back here? Last that she came she wouldn't shut up about the various of things that she can find.

His eye softened and he sat back down. Maybe she was just pretending to be his friend. Pretending to care. Why? Why did she pretend? He surely didn't do anything to deserve this treatment. He sighed to himself and thought logically. There could have been as much of a chance for her to become sick as well as for her not to have a good day. It was normal.

Deciding to wait by the barn like he did last time, he watched her from a distance. Not once did she look up at him. When he did get a look at her face, she seemed to zone out and fall asleep. Perfectly normal. The girl was just tired. He'd let her be this time. He hopes she'll come again.


	18. Lake Katrina

Two months came and went without receiving any action from Lollipop. This is merely the second or third time she's done this. Peppy marked that under "Interests" about her. It's nothing special but it could be important and them not realize it. Better safe than sorry, Fox always says.

Now their last encounter had been a handful. Mostly for Wolf, though. He, out of everyone, seemed the most exhausted out of the bunch. That's even comparing him to Panther, whom is still recovering from the blow to the head.

Lollipop has gotten away yet again. Wolf and Falco had managed to keep her longer than expected. A few other things had occurred between her and Wolf that he hadn't mentioned in his report. Yet the only part that really bugged him is when he and Falco had her pinned down. Something snapped within her, that much he knew.

She had kicked and screamed as if the two were trying to kill her. In all honesty, the sight frighten Wolf. It mainly didn't make any sense to him. What triggered such a terrible time for her? What happened? But more importantly, what was she so scared of? Those questions may never be answered.

At this point in time General Peppers has been notified about the building and what horrors await inside. They are going to retrieve everything from out of that horrible place and then demolish it. It's for the best that they get rid of it.

Wolf hasn't left the room as of yet. Mostly because he was asleep but now he's awake. He rolled over to face the wall. The blankets gathered at the end of the bed after he kicked them off earlier that night. Digging under his pillow, he grabbed his photo and looked at it. He doesn't know, nor bothered to count how many times he's looked at it. He's memorized each and every detail. From the scar and red tissue on his eye to the ruffles of her dress and her smile. Her smile always made his day. She seemed to share that with him. Though he never spoke a word, they still had a good time together. He missed her like something awful. And that promise he broke.

Life made him break his promise to her. He promised to come find her again. He did go back to Earth when he had the chance. He even waited from sunrise to sunset, everyday of that summer. Even on the weekdays when usually they met on the weekends. Wolf hoped to see her at least one more time. That hope seemed to disappear with time.

He got out of bed after he set the photo back in its place. Instead of getting dressed in his team colors, he put on black combat boots, leather pants and gloves and a black long sleeve shirt before heading out the room. He checked the time on his way out and it's already noon. He cursed himself and went to talk to Fox.

Fox and the others hadn't received any clues as to where Lollipop went to now. Soon Wolf came through the doors. Looked like that rest seemed to help him out a bit.

"You haven't missed anything\\. But since you're up, you can help me out with a few theories." Fox said before Wolf could.

"Fine. At least tell me why I slept in."

"You needed the rest." Fox said. Wolf seemed to want a better explanation than that. "You stay up late like I do. That's going to catch up to you just like it did me. And I get why you do that too but it doesn't help when we physically need you."

Wolf let out a low grunt. Fox handed him a few papers and walked over to a solar system layout. There are very few planets in this one, yet they're four times the size of Corneria. One planet is green, the second an ocean blue, and the third a silver like blue.

"Okay," Wolf said. "the trio system doesn't have any sort of life on them. She'll have absolutely no reason to go there."

"What about food source?" Fox said.

"Everything on the green planet is deadly to any and all living organisms. She'll e able to breath but that's it. The blue planet is nothing but water. She could rehydrate herself. The third planet is a frozen planet. "

"That is why I need you right now. General Peppers called me at an early time this morning letting me know that the system is down over where Commander Tompson's at. Probably due to Lollipop but they don't know how she got there."

"She's becoming more and more slick. First she's with us and the next day she's in a totally different solar system. Even at top sped on a hover bike, it would still take a two to three day trip."

"That's exactly what we thought too." Fox said.

Fox pulled up some notes that were pinned to the screen. Each one noted of something that is either strange about Lollipop or to point out something specific about the place she stole from. He typed onto another note about the time it took to change solar systems.

"Then there's the places and stolen files."

"Yeah. We at least know that she knows that stealing those certain files leaves a trail for us to follow." Says Wolf.

"If she does then why take them in the first place?" Fox questioned.

"Well let's look at the places she did steal from."

Fox enlarged the most recent building before it was torn down. Next to it is the file that had been there. He did this with the Control Board meeting as well.

"Here is the only two places that we know of. The files are the actual problem."

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked.

"The files didn't belong in those places to begin with."

Falco stepped up and noted one other place that Lollipop stole from.

"Didn't she take a file from Tompson's HQ?" Falco said.

"That's right, she did. But that file was about herself." Fox said.

"Yeah. Not only did she take that with her but she completely erased everything about herself from the database too." Slippy said. "Remember when it crashed? Well we know that it was because of her, she had also wiped out all the other systems that contained any sort of proof of who she really is or where she came from."

"That's why General Peppers needed us?" Asked Wolf.

"Well no, not necessarily. He needs us over in this district because Lollipop is more than likely to head this way." Slippy pulled up the three planets again and began to explain their strategy. "These three planets were not godly created. Each one had been made by an old truce by tribes that were at war with one another. One in which we know is by the Arinia's. The water planet. The other two were made by unknown tribes."

"How do you "create" a planet?" Leon asked as he gestured with quotation marks.

"I'm don't even know where to begin because that is such a very specific and critical process to that. Not to mention complicated."

"Simple terms?"

"They put stuff together."

Fox chuckled at Slippy. Sometimes they can all be a smart ass from time to time. The remarks they make to one another can be humorous to listen to.

"Alright. Besides how the planets were created, what does each one do?"

"Well just like Wolf had said. Though that's the most basic thing you can point out. And he's also right about her having no reason to go there besides rehydration. There's not a single building on those planets. Though there is a speedway airline that shoots you to each planet. Twice around the middle and one connecting the green to the blue and the blue to the silver. They're invisible and are located at certain points. Don't ask me why. I've already sent those locations to you." Slippy explained.

"So what are we going to do?" Wolf asked.

"Krystal is going through any personal file we have on Lollipop. Slippy and Peppy are needed here for technical support. NUS is charging. Falco and Leon will be sweeping through the sky to track her from above. Panther is staying here and helping the others with whatever they need. You'll be going down there first. I'll be joining. Though right now I'm waiting for General Peppers to call in on her location."

"So basically I'm on my own until further notice?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Let's get this over with."

"There's nothing you need to know about the planets that's be of any threat to you." Slippy said and handed him a watch.

Wolf raised an eyebrow.

"I think he knows how to tell time Slips." Falco commented. He continued to read his comic with his feet kicked up.

"That's not what it does. Well it does tell time but it also does a lot more. I already sent the maps to all three planets to its "location detection" file. Just call us if there's anything strange or anything."

Wolf slipped the watch onto his wrist. He watched as it glowed a bright green. Nearly shinning as bold as Lolly's eyes. He really needs to get her out of his head.

* * *

Wolf, Leon, and Falco had already made it out to their Arwings and launched off into the space surrounding the three planets. Falco and Leon waited there while Wolf drove closer. The sooner he gets there, the sooner he can be over with this. He feels like he's been saying that a lot lately. More to the fact that it's true, though that's beside the point.

Another five minutes until touch down. During that time, Wolf's mind leads back to Lollipop. Sure she's crazy, beautiful, smart, and adventurous. He can't shake the feeling of what's in that box though. The only thing that looked remotely familiar is that collar. Wolf scoffed at the idea of Lolly trying to wear it, she would choke herself in doing so. Maybe it's just a bracelet from where she's from? He had to think differently, to think like her. But before Wolf could finish the thought, Fox came on the inner com.

"Wolf. Lollipop's heading straight for you."

Wolf turned on the outer cameras and sure enough there she is. He can easily see that she's being chased down by Tompson's men. One of them shot at her bike, causing the back tire to explode, launching her forward. Lollipop managed to grab a hold of Wolf's wing and steadied herself before they fired again. This time she jumped. Instead of hitting her, it hit Wolf's wing. This cause the Arwing to begin to fail and head straight for the waters, nose first.

"Dammit Tompson!" Wolf yelled. He opened the hatch and crawled out. He kicked it closed, not too hard to break it. "Come here, Lolly."

"Aw you know I love when you call me that." She purred. They inched closer and closer towards the surface. Soon enough there were just miles from it. The screen in the cockpit went off multiple times. Most likely it's Fox trying to get a hold of him.

Wolf dove at Lollipop, knocking them both off the spacecraft, spinning in the air. More like wrestling. Lollipop keeps trying to get away from him by kicking him in the gut. That would have worked on someone else. Wolf grabbed her forearms and held tight as they collided with the water, submerging themselves. Unlike Wolf, Lollipop started thrashing her arms and legs everywhere. Wolf pulled her to him and held her as he came back to the surface. Both popped out of the water, huffing and puffing as they regained their normal breathing.

"Well that was fun." She commented.

"You know this was caused by you." Wolf said.

Lollipop stuck her tongue out at him and began to swim away. Lolly isn't the best swimmer out there but she isn't the worst either. Though, just like her running capability, Wolf easily caught her with little to no effort. She cursed under her breath as he caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Let go."

"No. You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

"Well I don't like it. Now let go damn it."

"No." The two bantered back and forth for a moment before Wolf started to drag her to the giant rock. She kicked and screamed, making twist and turns, everything she could think of that might work. Nothing did. She finally gave up and allowed him to pull her up onto the rock.

"What is with you and trying to arrest me. I haven't done anything wrong."

"Why do you think we're after you in the first place?" Wolf asked her. She blankly stared into space for a few seconds before answering.

"Because I was wrongly arrested and thrown in the looney bin so I ran away because I wasn't even given a trail about why I was being arrested?"

"What? No. You escaped a maximum security facility for the mentally ill. You're a crazy lady running around blowing up buildings for information."

"Crazy people don't know that they're crazy. I know I'm crazy, therefore I'm not crazy. Isn't that crazy?" She smiled at him. Her twisted smile sent shivers down his spine.

"You have no where to run to now. When Tompson gets here, you'll be arrested and shipped back to the asylum where you belong."

"Is that what you think?"

"That's what I know." Wolf is three inches from her face.

"You assume that, that's what you know because that's what you've been told. Look at it through my eyes."

Wolf looked her in the eye and saw that they've grown within the past minute. Wise and old. That they held a story. He backed up a couple of feet, paused for a moment, and allowed her to continued.

"They only want to control me. They don't like the fact of how free I am. I haven't paid taxes, rent, nothing. I take what I need, food, clothes, water. They hate the fact that I won't listen. Believe me when I say that all governments are the same. Slight differences but the same none-the-less. I want to be free. Free from all the responsibilities that gets thrown at you in this crazy thing we call life. Don't you want to be free too?"

Lollipop gently grabbed a hold of his hand. Her eyes switched to a wild essence. A poetic person could describe them as being optimistic. Full of wonder. Or a more simple term, curious. She awaited for his answer. Lolly on the other hand can see every emotion that he lets on. A annoyed one. He often wears just that emotion, though this time around it seems like he's thinking more about what's going on. Come on, she thought. She knows he's got to have a different opinion about their government, everyone does. Lolly wonders what's keeping him from joining her. She understands that he's got the collar on but he can easily hack it if he really wants to get out of doing this.

"Are they paying you? Paying off the bounty on your head?" A shadow casted itself over her eyes as she bowed her head. Still, she held his hand. She can still feel the firmness of his grip from underneath the leather.

"General Peppers himself is going to pay off the debt once you're securely locked away and can't run away again." Wolf didn't feel obliged to tell her any of this. This isn't some sort of advantage or disadvantage for either of them. It's just a question with an answer. Fact and proof.

"Then let me ask you this. Would you really join me? Help me complete what I'm doing? Would you really help me if you weren't being blackmailed?" She asked, her head still facing down. Her voice still solum.

"If it weren't for Peppers and Tompson...then yes I would have." This made Wolf feel strangely. He felt unique in a way. This feeling isn't good for the job. Wolf felt her let go of his hand and walked around him to the edge of the rock. The end she's walking to is raised further up than the side they crawled onto.

"That's nice to know." She said as she stopped on the ledge.

He thought for a moment. This is a good time to see what she'll do if he asked her to give up. To stop and allow him to help her. There's a strong chance that she'll do just that; give up.

"Ya' know Lollipop. If you came with me and let me help you...I can help you even more if you turned yourself in."

Wolf stood there cautiously. He knew that with someone like Lollipop, whose mentally unstable can be unpredictable. He has to be prepared for what her next move might be. All part of the job, he'd tell himself.

"Yeah?" She slowly turned around. Her eyes slowly met his. He couldn't describe this emotion or the reason behind it. He just knew that she's letting her guard down. Wolf needs to coax her some more, and if Commander Tompson's men try to arrest her then he'll have to step in at that point. He'll need to show her that she can trust him all the way. And in turn, she too will help him.

"Yeah. It'll be a bumpy ride at first but that's okay. Nothing's ever as easy as it seems."

"That's true..." Lolly stopped. Her shoulders slumped. Wolf walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. She looked away at this point.

" _You'll die there..._ "

Lollipop furred her brow. There isn't like him to say that. She looked up at him. What she should have seen is Wolf. Wolf with his grey fur, white mohawk, eye patch and his one purple eye. Instead One of the shadows replaced the old space pirate. Her eyes widen and she backed away from the creature. It had dug its claws into her skin, leaving red marks behind.

"Get away from me.." Lollipop said. She looked behind her and saw that she was on the tip of the edge. Her next idea might get her killed but at least it couldn't be as bad as right now in her life. Without a second thought, she leaned back and fell. The shadow reached out for her as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to see what happens next. She didn't know if it was because she's scared or because it didn't matter anymore. The next thing is a loud splash echoing through the air.

Wolf watched as Lollipop jumped off the ledge. His heart sank. In all his days of killing people, not once did he ever witness a suicide. Was it because they weren't strong enough to keep living on, tired of life itself? Or was it because they were brave enough to take their own life? Wolf had always asked himself that. He still can't decide between the two. He leaned back onto the rock and took a breath. He tried to soak in that Lollipop killed herself.

"Tomorrow's another day..." Wolf told himself.

He decided not to go see what had happened to her body. After all, it's disrespectful to mess with the deceased.

* * *

As night turned ino day, Wolf watched as the sky turned different colors. From a orange, pink to a purple-blue. Since there isn't any form of life on the planet, there were no birds that flew in the sky, not even a sound. Though the waves seemed to be active this morning.

Though he's been told that the moon is the one to control the tides, the sun has been burning brightly this day. It has rasin high in the sky, shinning light upon everything in sight.

Yet, at this very moment, Wolf isn't sure what he should do now. He had stayed up all night thinking about how he was going to tell Commander Tompson and General Peppers what happened to Lollipop. With her dead that meant their job is done. They've completed the task.

"But without her corpse Tompson will make us continue to search for her no matter how many times I'll tell him she's dead." He continued to talk to himself for the nex hour. Wolf debated whether or not the pros and cons are worth it.

"She's dead. I witnessed her death." He said aloud.

 _That is true. Though explaining a missing corpse is going to be difficult._

"Fox will believe me though."

 _He's not going to be enough help_.

"But there's not a straight forward type of way to get the body. Who knows how deep these waters are."

 _Nothing's going to work unless I have proof. Evidence of some sort._

"Ugh, what am I going to do?" Wolf huffed a sigh.

Late the previous night had been rough. With cold rocks, water and a breeze blowing all night. He managed to find a shallow rock path beneath the water. It took him over an hour or so just stepping one foot in front of the other, making sure that the path hadn't ended yet. This lead him to an island. It must be too small to see from the sky or space. Wolf stumbled upon the sandy area and fell to his knees. The sand moving beneath his weight. Wolf looked down at his watch, the one Slippy said that can do anything. He isn't sure what it can or can't do since they were in a bit of a haste but he might as well mess with it and test out its properties.

He sat there for thirty minutes until he found the correct file. Before he found it, he stumbled upon the location to the sweep spot that will take him to the next planet. It even projected a digital image of the map in full detail. He'll be swimming all the way to it. Wolf's just glad that there isn't any life on the planet. He sighed aloud and started his way through the jungle. Giant trees were scattered across the land. It isn't thick though. Wolf can easily see to the other side.

Rustling and mumbling made Wolf stop his train of thought. He stepped over a root and put his hand on a thin tree for balance. When he looked up, he hid behind the next tree. It's much thicker and blocked him perfectly. His heart raced.

Wolf refused to show his form. The sky grew darker and darker with each passing hour. He never lost track as his mind raced with disbelief. He shook his head and slid down a tree. Wolf held his head in his hands. It couldn't be real. He had hit his head before all this, that could be it. He peeked around the corner and watched her.

Lollipop sat there arguing with herself about what happened when she jumped. Those rocks should have taken her life. They were sharp, jagged rocks. And with a fall like that, not to mention the crushing of the waves that repeatedly rammed the rocks. Yet there she is. Sitting there watching the fire she made. The both of them surrounded by the dark sky, the night being lit up by the stars. He didn't understand how she survived but he somehow felt relieved that she did. But for now he'll just lay against this ditch in this trees' roots for the night. Wolf will try to keep himself warm. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back. The moonlight gently caressing his face, almost lulling him to sleep.

As Wolf fell asleep, Lollipop on the other hand is wide awake. She hadn't noticed someone following her, nor did the voices. They constantly argued. Ever since she swam from the rock to where she is now they consistently told her ways to kill him. Slice his throat with her nails, drown him, hit him hard on the head with a rock, push him off that ledge that she had jumped off of. The list may have been short but they gave her full details on how she should do it. That's when she stopped and watched the flames dance before her. She thought to herself. The one part of her mind locked away from the voices, her private chamber. That and her darkest secrets and memories that she doesn't want anyone, not even the voices to know.

For the majority of the day she merely walked around the tiny island trying to find something to eat. All she can find is berries. Now is a good time to stop being picky, she thought to herself. Not long after wondering around aimlessly, she found a small beach. Lolly took this time to gather fire wood as she had noticed the sun setting in the distance. Finally after getting a fire started, so did the voices.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it right now."

 _YOU NEED TO GET RID OF HIM_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Stop reminding me."

DROWNING

"Mmm."

HEAD INJURY

"Classic."

. . . . .

"Now you stop. Thank God. You were really starting to irritate-" She heard the rustling of bushes.

Lollipop got up to check it out. Carefully she walked into the darkness and looked around a few trees. However it's the fourth tree that she looks around and finds Wolf.

"What in the actual fuck? How did he find me?" She asked herself.

She noticed that he isn't moving. Dead? No because the voices would have stopped about trying to kill him. Lollipop leaned in slowly just in case he moved. He didn't. Maybe he is dead, Lollipop pondered. Pressing two fingers to his neck, she did find a pulse. He's alive, just asleep.

She felt the cold air wrap around her when she stepped away from the fire. Lolly cupped the side of his face with her hand, stroking his cheek softly with her thumb. It wasn't hard to tell that he's exhausted from chasing her all over the universe. She's just as tired from being chased by them all over the place too. Things could change. Things could change for the better. Or the worse. She wished that she can tell him. Too bad she isn't all into it with her emotions like most women are. Lolly took back her hand slowly, making sure she won't wake him up. That's one thing she doesn't need.

Just as she's about to turn away and walk back to the campfire Wolf started to stir. Without thinking, Lollipop darted back to him, landing quietly next to him. Taking away the warmth she gave off is a bad idea. Now she has to stay curled up next to Wolf for the night. With her knees pulled up to her chest, she huddled up to Wolf. She bumped him making him lean on her. His head laying atop of hers. With that came a slight blush. His calm breathing is relaxing. Soon she matched his breathing and fell asleep a while after that. The night as cold and unforgiving as the ocean. This night however, will lay in secret.

* * *

"Do we have anything on Wolf yet, Slips?" Fox asked.

"Without a satellite then there's nothing we can do. But I am working on one that we can send down there. Hopefully we'll be able to find him."

"Good job, Slips." Fox patted Slippy's shoulder before they slipt. Slippy going to work on the satellite and Fox to the control room. Krystal and Peppy are off to the right as they are going over some papers.

"Fox, you have a missed call from the General. His end broke up and ended the call. He'll be calling back here shortly." Krystal says as she continues to read through the papers in her hands.

"Thanks Krystal. Did you or Peppy find anything?"

"Maybe. I was thinking about how her journal and sketch book is blank and nowhere to be found."

"What about them?"

"Well in the nurses documents that Panther and Leon got from the asylum, it says here that she wrote in it everyday." She handed Fox the paper and pointed at the listing.

"You're right. So the where's everything she wrote? They aren't allowed to give them disappearing ink."

"Exactly. And how she got a blank one to take it's place. Also wondering where she stuck the sketch book because this paper," she handed him another listing sheet, "says that she sketched in it every once and a while. Someone other then Lollipop doesn't want us to know who she is or why."

"That means someone's playing along with her game and she doesn't even know it. Other wise things would be turning out differently." Fox said.

Just then the Great Fox shut down. The engines stopped, the computers powered off and all the lights turned off as well. Krystal reached out and grabbed Fox's arm, a little frightened.

"That's not a good sign." Says Peppy.

While things seemed to get out of hand in the Great Fox, Wolf is having a bit of a hardship as well. The next day brought the heat of the sun. Its warmth kissed Wolf's face through the canopy of the trees. He slowly opened his eye, letting it adjust to the light and stretched out his muscles, waking them up. He looked around and remembered that he camped out for the night. Once he fully stood up he began to look around. He saw that her fire is out and she's nowhere in sight. Now he's got to find her all over again.

That's when he heard her talking again. He hid behind a different tree as she came into view. One thing she isn't talking about it what she plans to do next or with the files. She's rambling on about everything that pops into her head.

"I don't like the color red. I say it's too bold and it always reminds me of Christmas too. So I told her that my favorite color is green. I mean it is a general color like pink or blue but the fact is that was just my green phase. It's still a pretty color don't get me wrong but I then knew I was not a girl that likes pink. To this day I hate it. Too girly is what I tell people when they ask me why I don't like it. They say I look good in it but I personally hated it because everyone would get me pink things and it made me sick. Then later I liked purple and still do. It was a phase for my whole school. Well more of a trend like the galaxy themed stuff everyone got to the disney things."

She paused for a moment to put the wood down and set a small bag down. Lolly kept picking out berries from it and eating them. Wolf silently watched as she talked to herself. To talk to ones self is most depressing and insane. She's acting like someone is talking to her, Wolf thought to himself. When she sat down and continued to talk, Wolf saw it as a perfect time to get her. He quietly walked up behind her, careful to keep from slipping on the sand. Half way to her she stood up and walked over to the water, and he followed her. She didn't seem to notice him. He regularly walked up to her and spoke.

"Thought you died." He said and she let out a shriek.

"What is wrong with you." She smack his arm like they were friends who did this on a regular basis. Lollipop wasn't mad, nor scared, nor anxious. Just indifferent. A place she often feels where she'll be okay. Not feeling one way nor the other and yet nobody bothers her about it. A safe haven to her subconscious.

"You jumped off a cliff where rocks where waiting at the bottom. Why did you jump?" Wolf asked. He knew he shouldn't make conversation with her since he's suppose to arrest her but he doesn't see Fox, or anyone for that matter, coming anytime soon.

"I...I.." For once, Lollipop has no smart remark. She had no cocky explanation. Lolly looked everywhere but at his face. Why did it bother her that she couldn't explain why she jumped? It isn't his business, she told herself.

"What's not my business?"

"What?" Lolly looked up at him.

"You said that it's not my business. And I'm asking what isn't my business? You jumping?"

"I don't have to answer that without my lawyer present." Lollipop turned and walked back to the scorched wood. She simply looked at it. Almost as if she's trying to memorizing the fine details on it. The singular lines and the various shade of black and even gray that she noticed. The blackest of the wood is what she kept looking back on. Somewhere in her mind, she hoped that the wood would return to its original state. Yet the other part of her brain knows that it won't.

Her brain is a constant war with itself. One side says or believes this while the other thinks the total opposite. Why couldn't things be as simple as they're made out to be? Now it's nothing but horrors and sweet dreams. Lolly failed to realize that she's staring off into space. Wolf called her name out several times, though nothing seemed to make her snap out of it. Wolf reached out and gently touched her shoulder, shaking her slightly. That's when she came back to reality and snatched his wrist. Her eyes gone wild as she snarled at him. Meaningful physical contact isn't what she's use too, one of the most obvious of things anyone can see, yet she rejected it whenever the other person means absolutely no harm. Something she might not ever get use too.

She released his wrist after she stated, practically growling at him, "Don't touch me."

"Lolly, how many times do I have to tell you that we-that I can help you? You just have to let us help you."

"For the record this is the second time you've said it so it really doesn't effect me." She said, matter-of-factly.

"Okay. You're right there. But that doesn't mean it's not true."

"Have you even thought about what I've said? The only reason you're doing this is to save your own ass. Which is understandable but still. That can be easily hacked and taken off." Lollipop said.

"It can?"

"Well, the one I had was. They probably upgraded it since then. Though I am wondering how in the world they even cornered you. I mean you are 'Lord O'Donnell' after all."

Wolf is taken back by this. She knows his role as lord to the Sargasso hideout. She's kept a few tabs on him since then. He wouldn't doubt it if he'd met her a few times before without realizing it.

"I was really looking forward to being under your protection but ah well. Beggars can't be choosers." She smiled, or at least tried to. The corner of her pink lips turned up only to fall back down. There's more to her then anyone is letting on, even her. She wants to keep them in this ever lasting loop of questions until she's completed her task.

For the next forty-five minutes they remained quite. There isn't much to discuss, not even to chat about. Lollipops' question from earlier still rattles him. How she knew he was caught, even before the Control Board meeting, is beyond him. Wolf looked up at her. She's over by the water again. The only difference is that she took off her boots and stockings, her bare feet getting wet. He couldn't help but noticed that she has tiny feet for a woman of her age, however old she is.

"Hey, tiny feet." Wolf called out.

"Shut up. They're not _that_ small." She called back. She played with the water for a few more minutes. Wolf watched as she kicked and splashed in it like a little kid. Those long, thin, well built, creamy legs swinging back and forth. Then she began walking over to him. Her hips swayed each time she took a step towards him. He began to blush until he ignored these thoughts and spoke.

"How about we make a deal. You get to ask me a question, and I ask you one question. That sound good?" Wolf asked. She stood exactly in front of him, thinking about his proposition. It sounded good and it's fair. Why not, she thought.

"Okay. My question is the one from before; how'd Tompson corner you?"

"Well it was simple really. Embarrassingly simple. I was out running some errands for myself when I stopped at a local fast food joint. Just as I left from there and was about halfway back to the Meteo, Tompson's men had already been following me. Eventually they had me out numbered, a thousand to one, and surrounded me. Tompson promptly arrested me and thrown me in jail. Now I know you can figure a guy like me has connections on the inside too. I do. They contacted one of my teammates about the situation and to provide with caution. Before a plan was made General Peppers and Tompson came up to me talking about you're case. But before that, when they were having me registered in is when they put the collar on. It hurt like hell when they turned it on. Said that I'll either rot in jail or die. Either way I was his bitch until further notice." Wolf explained.

"That's fucked up." she scrunched her face as she said so. "It sounds about right though." Lollipop mindlessly grabbed his hand, flopping it in either of her hands. This is something that she'd do during conversations with her friends; mess with anything in front of her or her friends hands.

"Yup. Now let me ask you one."

"Shoot."

"What age were you when you were arrested?"

"That's an odd question." Lolly said as she raised an eyebrow.

"It's only fair."

"Okay. Your question. I was eighteen years old when I was arrested. It was a year later that I escaped." They were silent for a few minutes. Lolly thinking about how soothing the weather feels, not too hot nor too cold. Wolf is thinking more about how this will turn out. They still have the night to get through too.

"Shouldn't you be already gone by now?" Wolf asked. He turned to her. Knowing that she'll ask a question due to their deal.

"Yeah but I kill for these moments. I actually get time to relax before running off in a hurry."

The two sat there without saying another word. She's acting like everything's okay and that nothing's after her. Talking like they were old friends. Then again she does give off that feeling of calmness. The one that's usually before the storm. But in this moment, right now, in Lollipop's eyes, nothing can go wrong. Everything has that spark to make life an adventure. She gazed at the sky. The blue and white sweeping across the horizon. Why can't this be something that never goes away? Lollipop thinks to herself. At times like these makes her think too much. She doesn't mean too but there's that one thought that crosses her mind.

 _Never loose it..._

Lollipop will bring it back. She promised that she would never loose it. Even though it's not on her at the moment doesn't mean she's lost track of it. She just has to find a way to get it back.

As for Wolf, he watched as she looked up at the sky. She almost seemed to smile in a sweet and kind manner. Almost. Besides that, Wolf noticed how her eyes seemed to hold something. It wasn't hard for him to read what her eyes put out, like he'd known her for a while. They dilated constantly, zooming in and out. He stared at her, thinking about what she's been that he knew of, which isn't much to go off of. Wolf couldn't say he felt sorry for her but can't deny that she's had it rough, just like him. They were more alike then he's comfortable with. He quietly sighed to himself and looked at the ocean. It's been a while, he doesn't know how long exactly, though he's ready to get off this planet.

That's when the though struck him. He'll still be chasing Lollipop after this. Wolf is pulled from his thoughts when he saw he walk into the jungle, her boots and stockings already on.

"Where do you think you're going?" Wolf stood up with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Getting some berries. Just so you know that's two for me now." She said without turning around. She left him standing there wondering if she's really coming back. This left Wolf alone with his thoughts.

Though there isn't much _to_ think about. Hopefully he'll only have to stay here for a while longer. Who knows, maybe he'll go crazy. He hopes not.

When Lollipop comes back it shocks him a tiny bit but then again she doesn't really have anywhere else to go. She grabbed a hand full of berries and handed him the small bag that she put them in. At first he looked at her questionably.

"Fine. I'll eat them then." She reached out for them only to have him pulled back.

"Okay, okay." He said and he popped a few in his mouth. Up to that point he hadn't realized that he hasn't ate anything. He is grateful that she even shared.

"So for my two questions." She started.

"Go ahead."

"Do you kill children and why?"

"No, or at least we try to avoid those cases. Kids have lives to live. Taking them away because someone else that they probably don't even fucked up, doesn't mean they deserve to die for their mistakes." Wolf says. When he glanced at her she looked at him with something close to astonishment. He isn't sure. She did, however, look away when their eyes met. What would she be embarrassed about?

"Next question." She took a long paused, not sure of what her next question should be. She will need to think about it carefully. Then a thought popped in and she asked him her question.

"Well?"

"Do you think the worst person can change and everyone can be a good person if they just try?" Lollipop didn't look up. She kept her gaze at the ocean. It's breeze sweeping by, slightly blowing her bangs away from her face. He never really got to see what her face looks like, just glimpses since her hair covers most of it.

Wolf thought about her question. Does he think the worst person can change? Yes he does. And everyone can be a good person? Also a yes.

"Yes, I do think that. If anyone can right the wrong they did then it's that person alone who committed the wrong."

"Kinda funny," she giggled, "that we're sitting here having a heart-to-heart when we're suppose to hate each other." Lollipop smiled. He can't tell if it's real or fake.

"I wouldn't call it 'heart-to-heart'. It's not like were together. Though everyone thinks you have a thing for me."

"No I don't." Lolly shot him down. He tried and failed miserably.

"Right. So that kiss was for nothing then?" Lollipop stared into space for a moment but turned away so he can't see her blush.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Right. It's not like I don't see that blush." for a moment she heard him shuffle about before she turned her head to meet with Wolf in her face. "Just try me next time, sweetheart."

Now she looks like a fully bloomed rose. He smirked at this. Wolf backed up and looked towards the sky and ocean. The sun is beginning to set once more. Soon the sky will be turning that orange hue, then purple.

"You know if we were a thing this could have been more romantic." Lollipop said and sighed to herself. "Welp. While the sun's still out, I'm gonna take a swim."

"You don't exactly have spare clothes ya' know." Says Wolf.

"Who said anything about that. I'll just swim in the clothes I have on me. It's not like I was planning to strip or anything." She kicked her stockings and boots off again.

Wolf blushed at the thought. He can imagine her standing there, slowly taking off one article of clothing after the other. _Stop that. Bad Wolf. Stop thinking dirty thoughts._ It didn't help when she jumped fully in the water and resurfaced for air. Her blonde hair now turning a dark brown due to the water. The water glistening off her damp fur. This only caused him to blush even harder, if that's even possible.

"Come on Wolf, the water's great." She called out to him as she swam backwards.

"I'm good on the shore. You have your fun." He said. After that he sat there watching her swim. Their conversation might not have meant much but can most definitely help them. Wolf, Fox, Peppy and Krystal all agree that to catch her, they'll need to see the world through her eyes.

Eventually he had to drag her out. Night is coming and she refused to get out of the water, making him go and get her.

"Hey I was having fun." Lollipop whined.

"I don't care." He said. He doesn't need her getting sick on him.

A few hours passed since then and Lollipop is soaking wet still. Her hair now knotted from being wet. Instead of it acting like a blanket, it instead is twisted and laid across her shoulder. Even her bangs stuck together and slid to the side of her face. Wolf sat on one side of the fire, watching it flicker and dance. Lollipop has her head down, laying it on her crossed arms which sat atop of her knees. She seemed more exhausted than usual.

She sneezed three times in a row. Wolf mentally excused her.

"Ah-choo." He sighed to himself. Ever since she had gotten out of the water she's been sneezing continuously. Lollipop's clothes have dried off though she's still shivering and it's not cold out tonight. Oh boy, he thought to himself.

Wolf tried to ignore it for the next few hours only to have it grow worse. She nearly tipped over twice. He saw that she's trying to keep herself awake. Little did he know that she rarely gets any sleep.

Though Wolf isn't the type to pity anyone but he doesn't need her getting the flu on him. He got up and walked around the fire. She heard the shuffle of sand but just didn't care what he's up to. The next thing she knew is that she's warms. Her back covered in warmth. Wolf pushed her arms down, tucking them between her stomach and thighs. His arms wrapping around her figure, taking her arms' place. He sat right behind her, pressing up against her to keep the heat trapped. She blush a tiny bit, seeing his legs outstretched next to her folded ones.

The voices are clawing at her mind, growling at her. They're getting to close. He's caring too much, even with this little affection as frienemies. Lolly breathed in and exhaled, feeling the weight of Wolf's head on her shoulder. She can't continue this. When dawn breaks in she'll leave. She doesn't know how long it's been and she doesn't know how long she has until then but she'll wait. The sun will come and she will leave. She'll find some vines to tied him up with before hand so she'll have more time to find it.

 _JEWEL OF JACHARI_

 _'Yeah I know. It's not here.'_

 _NEXT PLANET_

 _'When dawn comes.'_

When she went to sleep she was woken up. She had only been asleep for a few minutes, right? She opened her eyes to see the sun peering over the ocean. Dawn has come. Lollipop tried to get up, failing to remember that Wolf is there. He's slumped over her, still asleep. Lolly carefully slipped from his grip as she held him up. She then dragged him to a tree and set off to find some vines. Once she came back she tied him up. Hopefully he won't wake up until much later. Before she left, Lolly decided to carve the letters "M" and "E". Three letters they now have. Though something tells her they haven't even considered the first letter. _'They'll figure it out'_.

By time she found the direction she's suppose to go she realized that she has to swim all the way there. She grunted aloud and started to paddle there. Though just as she made it there within five minutes, she can see two more arwings heading towards Wolf. She shrugged it off and went to the next planet.

"Wolf!" Fox called out. Nothing.

They had lost power in the Great Fox. Slippy, NUS, Falco, are trying their best to fix the engines. Krystal and Peppy are checking the control room for any problems and Leon and Panther are running through the external systems to scan for any problems. Fox and a small group of Commander Tompson men came down to the planet in search of Wolf and Lollipop. So far none of them have seen either of them. This began to worry Fox. He doesn't want to believe that deep down Wolf is a terrible person. His emerald green eyes scanned the area around him. Seeing vines hanging down from the tree limbs above. They had recently been snapped. Fox continued further around a few trees to see a burnt out fire. Looking next to the tree he finds Wolf tied up.

"Wolf." Fox says and pats his face in an attempt to wake him up and it worked. He's a little off set but soon recovers and immediately realizes his situation.

"That little brat." Wolf growls and tries to get out of the vines.

"Hold on, I got it." Fox says. He takes out a hunting knife to cut the vines. As Wolf stood up is when Fox noticed the letters. He gently moves Wolf out of the way and snaps a quick photo of it before they needed to move on.

"How come you haven't come sooner?" Wolf said.

"Tompson's men are working on getting your arwing out of the water for now. As for you and me, we need to get going. I have the speed way location. Here."

Fox hands him a hypo-thermal suit. Wolf follows Fox in a hurry.

"What about the others?" Wolf asks.

"Well you see what happened was..."

To be continued...


End file.
